Fleeting Autumn Beauty

According to the calendar, we are almost halfway through Autumn but you'd never know it by looking at the trees around here!

Mother Nature rarely cuts us Canadian prairie folk a break when it comes to the fall beauty! I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but it always seems that those in Eastern Canada and the North-Eastern United States get a longer more spectacular show of Autumn foliage  I've made no secret that Autumn is my favourite season but the picturesque beauty of it is far too short! Here on the Canadian prairies, we are lucky if the leaves stay on the trees more than a couple weeks after they start turning!

It just doesn't seem fair - especially when you consider how long and harsh our winters can be. There really should be a law that Mother Nature is not allowed to throw heavy rains or strong winds while the leaves are in full on fall glory!

Oh well, I guess that is supposed to make us more grateful for the fleeting beauty of the season - and for me it does! When the leaves are at their most colourful, I set aside almost anything else that needs doing to go out and enjoy as much of it as I can! Even when I am home, I find myself looking out the window just to admire the colourful treetops of my neighbourhood!

I took several walks this Autumn as well as enjoying my apartment view! I'd like to share some of these views with you today.

This year, the leaves were just starting to turn in mid September, but there was a bit more colour by the end of the month. On September 25, I took a walk in Assiniboine Park.

Over the next week or so there were a few nights with a bit of frost and the leaves were in full out beauty by early October! Alas, they were also starting to fall!

I took a walk out Wellington Crescent to Munson Park on October 2.

Sunrises, are always a bit out of view from my apartment, but there are mornings that the reflective light is just too lovely not to take some pictures! This seems to be especially true in Autumn!

On October 9, one of my gal pals and I took a walk through Assiniboine Forrest. Despite living in Winnipeg for many years, neither of us had ever been there before! It was a cool, partly cloudy morning but we thoroughly enjoyed the crisp air and the spectacular beauty of the urban forest!  There are numerous trails through the forest, with a few markers along the various paths. Intersecting paths are marked with maps, but there are also a few small painted markers on tree branches to tell you which path you are on. Our walk was mostly on the pink and green trails, though the light blue and yellow do align with them in places. 

 

Then came a major rainy, windy Thanksgiving Monday (October 12) and it was all but over for the majority of the colourful leaves. Soggy leaves covered the ground and nearly naked trees were everywhere!

Such is the nature of the changing seasons here on the prairies! So, I enjoy the beauty while it is here. When the outside weather isn't cooperating or the beauty is past, I focus on preparing for the coming months. Thanks to above normal temps, I managed to hold off on many of those fall chores till after Thanksgiving. Since then, I've switched out the down blanket for the down duvet on my bed. The summer clothes have been moved to the back of the closet. Summer jackets have been packed away and the heavier ones now hang by the front door. Gloves, scarves and even the boots are at the ready, but hopefully won't be needed for a while yet. The freezer has been defrosted and an inventory taken of it and the pantry. There have been numerous errands and shopping trips to restock the pantry and freezer for the winter months. I've also been gathering my supplies for holiday baking which will be started in the next few days.

Time moves all too fast come September. One day the leaves are green and we are still in summer clothes. In what seems like a heartbeat the leaves have turned and are falling to the ground. The weather gets nippier, the days get shorter and we pull out the heavier clothing and turn on the heat. We pull out our cookbooks and turn on our stoves to fill our homes with the scents of the bountiful harvest.

It is now the beginning of November. The clocks have been set back an hour and we have entered that sometimes bleak inbetween season. For some, there is the anticipation of outdoor winter activities, but for many of us there is the sense of impending partial hibernation and indoor activities.

To each their own.

For me, I will treasure the beauty that was - no matter how short. I will enjoy the pictures and the memories of times shared. In the coming weeks there will be plenty of holiday baking to keep me busy. There will always be recipes to play with. There are books to be read. Movies and videos to be watched. Writing to be done. Winter's naps to be savoured.

Thank you Mother Nature for the fleeting beauty that is our prairie autumn.

dn