Out any of our windows is a tree or a bush that is a new color. The leaves have been green for months but now they are red or orange or a vibrant yellow. We have had many sunny days lately and the sun makes the colors strong, arresting. I have read of salutes to autumn as a time of freedom from bugs. The first time I stood in the Wisconsin woods gathering kindling in June, I experienced the sort of onslaught that hungry mosquitos can deliver. So, several weeks of below freezing nighttime temperatures are welcome eliminators of those bloodsuckers and related forms of life. However, mosquitos, ladybugs and spiders have all been sensing cold and trying to use our house as a heated refuge.
Sometimes, the breeze is just right to set leaves vibrating but not moving tree branches. When several trees are vibrating all at once, it is magical, hypnotizing. I like to try to picture the electric lines and the ladder work that would be needed to produce the same effect with small motors with each leaf. I like to look at the trees with sliding colors, both on single leaves and in batches and think how long a crew of painters would need to make the same arrangement by hand.
The blue sky, the cool, fresh air can be intoxicating. Sho if I sheem a little unsteady of hand and lip, blame the air, the breeze, the sights, not me.
