The Coming of Fall

An Essay by Ruth Barnes

The end of Summer is approaching and I don’t remember when it began. As I sit looking out of the window, watching the leaves on the huge oak tree turning colors before my eyes, my mind wanders to another time. A time when this large oak tree was just starting its new life. Oh, the stories this tree could tell. As Fall approaches, the leaves on the old oak tree are preparing for the next season. They will slowly change color, starting with a beautiful yellow, and moving on to a golden amber. When the sun’s rays hit these beautiful leaves, oh how beautiful they are. As the ]days progress and the temperature starts to fall these beautiful leaves will take flight. The wind picks up and one by one the leaves from the old oak tree sail like airplanes, gliding through the air until they reach their destination on the ground.

Often times, I feel like an old oak tree. I change with each season preparing for the next. The Fall brings cooler weather, which gives you a sense that something is in the air! A tingle of excitement, that you can’t explain. You just sense that something is different. As the long hot summer days drag out, we are ready for change, just like the old oak tree. We are ready to shed our own leaves and prepare for new. This is a time to celebrate the “Coming of Fall”.

The “Coming of Fall”, means warm scents in the air, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin. The Farmers are cutting their hay in the fields, and the smell of fresh cut hay is something you will never forget. The cotton in the field down the road is green and I can see tiny buds appearing, preparing to bloom.

A plant that produces a fiber, cotton, what an amazing thing. When the cotton is in full bloom, it is beautiful. The soy bean field across the highway puts off a scent that I can’t describe, but I know it is the “Coming of Fall”.

There is a crispness in the air, it takes my breath away as I walk barefoot in the cool grass under the Old Oak Tree.

I look up to see the leaves flying around me. I watch one leaf as it slowly floats, and the wind picks it up and carries it to its resting place. Over time, the leaf will break down, and go slowly back into the ground from where it came. I step on something with my bare feet, I look down to see an acorn. I pick it up and think to myself, I am holding a new life in my hands. I gently place it back onto its resting place, where one day, a seedling will appear and the little acorn will begin a new life. This is the “Coming of Fall”.

“The Coming of Fall”, brings Festivals to life.

Oh the scents of cotton candy and corn dogs!

The County Fairs, the Barn Shows, and the Craft Festivals! There is music in the air with the sounds of laughter and craftsmen selling their wares.

The night brings bon fires, roasting hotdogs and drinking hot chocolate while sitting on a bale of hay, snuggling with the ones you love! Fall is a family time. It is a time to be thankful for family and friends.

As I look out my window at the old oak tree, I wonder, is it, “The Coming of Fall”?