IT'S FALL HERE BUT REALLY?

It's fall here and that's my favorite season but does it feel like fall temperature-wise? It's cold here tonight and was quite chilly yesterday but the leaves on the trees have barely changed their colors which is odd for this time of the year. We had an onslaught of warm weather for several weeks and the forsythia decided to bloom again--even the flowers are confused for they are budding.

My yard is full of crunchy brown leaves and yet it looks as if most of the leaves on the silver maple are still green and so where did they come from? I can only guess that the gusty winds we've been having have blown a ton of leaves in my yard for there are many from different trees that are not mine.

I find "sweet gum" leaves constantly in the yard:  They're easy to identify for they look like a star shape. There is a ginkgo tree in my backyard but its leaves haven't turned that glorious yellowish-green yet: They're still green. And all of this is odd for this time of October--at least where I live for normally the hills are ablaze with vivid colors. Acorns are in abundance this fall--in fact I have never seen so many since I've lived in my house which has been a long time.

It's impossible to walk out in the street without stepping on acorns: Normally the squirrels hoard them and maybe they are and can't keep up with the overload of them. I thought that was a sign of a bad winter ahead, but last year there were many acorns but not like now. The street is brown from where cars have run over the acorns and I just look at it. Could I sweep them to the side? That's a possibility but I'd rather not sweep forty feet of street or more, and really who would want to do that anyway?

The wonderful smell of fall is in the air and that is a smell that evokes memories of past falls and all of the events that happened long ago. Smells can trigger memories in a heart beat as you well know. But I wonder if I will be looking at bare trees and a gazillion old brown leaves in my yard for it seems that way: The yearly color changing of them has been a long drawn out process.

Oh trust me it's fall here all right, but November is approaching quickly and with that comes snow on the heels of fall and so again I say "It's fall here but really?" No sign of glorious leaf changing color but just slight fading but I will savor fall's smell and its remnants.

Sherry Hill
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