Fall, leaves, fall

By Emily Brontë

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.

As Bronte poignantly expresses above, there is beauty to be found even as the northern hemisphere prepares for its winter rest.  Fall has officially arrived, and it feels like fall here in the Rockies. We have cool, crisp mornings, and the leaves are starting to trade in the brilliant greens of summer for the varied hues of autumn.

This week we went horseback riding in order to enjoy the beauty of the aspen trees as they change colors. It’s a lovely and peaceful excursion my husband and I undertook several times before we had kids, and now our 6-year-old is old enough to come along (though this time my Sweetie stayed back with our 2-year-old – the stable would not allow us to ride double with him).

It’s a fun, simple trip, and it reminded us to quietly look for the changes happening in the natural world as we leave behind summer and head toward winter. While this is only the beginning of our fall celebrations, it felt like a wonderful beginning to the fall season.

How did you mark the Change of the Seasons? Do you have any favorite Fall Traditions?