Sit back, relax, and enjoy the colors

When the temperatures have lowered and there is a crisp cool scent in the air, you can tell that it won't be long before you can look out your back door and see magnificent colors. The colors of autumn are varied and brilliant whether you live in the East or the West, or somewhere in between. From the brightly colored red leafed maples to the splendor of aspen gold, the leaves begin their dance to the delight of all who witness the change. The fact that nature is ever-changing, yet dependably predictable is one of the delightul aspects of the changing seasons.

The crispness of the air signals that for a few weeks we will have some of the most pleasant temperatures of the year, not yet frigid but not as hot and sweltering as the "dog days" of summer. As the leaves begin to change and fall, we see the rakes come out and the piles of leaves begin to show up all around the neighborhood. Once in a while we catch sight of a child jumping in the leaves, or raking them in circles to pretend he's ringmaster of a circus, or maybe raking them into sections as if they are the rooms in his own private mansion.

Can you hear the changes as the birds begin to make their way south for the winter? Or, is it the loud cheers of the screaming football fans that says to you fall has officially arrived? Maybe it's the first time you see smoke rising from a neighbor's chimney (or even your own) that tells you this season of beauty is upon us. The wonderful warmth of the colors is a delight to behold as we drive through our neighborhoods noticing the yellow and burnt orange mums on our neighbors' porches. It's as if the bright colors of summer, when warmed long enough by the sun, settle in with a fiery glow to ease us into the cooler temperatures and, for all too brief a time, we are the beneficiaries of the "just right-ness" of fall.