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October 21, 2006
Fall
This is one of my favorite times of the year, and I suppose much of this feeling simply comes from having some relief from the intense heat we experience here in the Gulf Coast area most of the summer.
More than this, I am aware of a readying of things to come... a sort of preparing for the winter, I guess. Winter is not usually what we ‘snow birds’ recognize in this region as something that counts as a real winter. It is always a standard joke here, even among the originals, “Get out your winter clothes and then be ready to put them away a few days later”.
The thing is, nature still fulfills her promise. The trees begin to lose their leaves, pecans are now all over the ground ( due to an onslot of recent rainfall ), grass appears to be in a spell of no growth, birds have a different call and flight pattern, squirrels seem to disappear, crows and hawks begin to show themselves again, and this is all just in my city neighborhood.
The air is somehow fresher, even if it is probably not, considering the large polluted city right outside my door. Wheather patterns are sweeping through with all the intensity the gulf can muster against any cold front coming down from Canada. This area of the world definitely has it’s own set of rules when it comes to any season, and yet, I still find myself falling under the magic of fall.
My continuous, romantic love affair with Mexico especially endears me to the end of October and early November, since Dia De Los Muertos happens with all the mysterious ceremony.
Last year was the first time I put together my own personal altar, with some items that belonged to family members who have passed, as well as some items I consider sacred and appropriate for the occasion.
My participation was not without effect, and left me realizing how connected we can be to things we may not see, but are often around us.
This year I plan to be even more attentive, as I will try to be more aware of what I am feeling.
Connecting to our past and those who have passed that we love still is part of the process of moving on. A time to be still and observe our lives so that we may restore and refresh our new interactions yet to come.
I welcome the fall of the year, the changing time when a cocoon is forming in preparation for the metamorphous that will certainly occur come spring... the butterfly will emerge.
Posted by kay at October 21, 2006 09:56 AM