The Fall

The big tree next to our garage bares its arms

I've been tracking the leaves on the trees next to our house, and also certain trees on campus. Their brilliant colors are starting to dull, and one tree on campus has all but lost its leaves. Each autumn, I never cease to be amazed at the colorful and rapid change that happens. That one gust of wind can transform the look and feel of an entire street when leaves scatter all over the ground and branches once full, are now bare. Here in Michigan the colors are much more opaque, and when the leaves fall it's like dried paint flecks, red, yellow, orange, on the sidewalks. (Minus the toxicity and staining, but with added crunch).

I'm learning to be here in this place. I hear myself say that I am far from home a lot, and I'm sure in the coming months as I settle more deeply into the midwest, I will say things like, "it feels good to be home."