In my last post I wrote about spring and summer (“Summer is icumen in”). Perhaps it is appropriate that I focus on fall and winter for this blog! I should call this post “Winter is icumen in.” Today is the last full day of summer. The autumn equinox is tomorrow. Up here in the mountains, we already are seeing the first hints of winter. This morning it was 31 degrees when I got up, and the deck was a sheet of treacherous black ice! We even have a chance of a dusting of snow tonight.
Colorado is beautiful in the fall. Although we may not have the brilliant reds and oranges of a New England fall, the aspen turn entire mountainsides into panoramas of brilliant, lemony and golden yellows. Some aspen can turn more of an orange shade, but most are bright yellow. Right before the aspen turn, they get a funny dull green look, a change from their usual bright green; normally their leaves are sort of the shade of a Granny Smith apple. Once they begin to turn, their leaves morph into a Midas-like field of gold and yellow almost overnight.
Fall seems to have slipped in quietly this year. We had a hazy summer with our mountain views obscured by the drifting smoke from the horrific fires on the west coast all summer long. Interestingly, we didn’t have as many birds as usual this summer either, especially the hummingbirds. Even the Rufus hummingbirds, who arrive in August, didn’t stay as long as usual to drive everyone else away from the feeders. Perhaps with the smoke and bad air all summer, they simply migrated earlier than usual too! As summer turns into fall and fall into winter, we are cautious, looking out for hungry bears and cranky moose. We bring the bird feeders in every night, and I scan the yard with my flashlight before letting Stella out of a late-night potty call.
Fall has always been my favorite season of the year. Instead of feeling like the ending of yet another year, it has always felt like the beginning of the year to me. Perhaps this is because school always started in the fall with wonderful blank notebooks waiting to be filled and the upcoming promise of Thanksgiving and Christmas lurking just around the corner!
As you probably already know, the Autumn and the Spring Equinoxes mark the days when the hours of daylight and night are equal. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and the Winter Solstice marks the shortest day of the ear. What amazes me is how these ancient peoples ever learned about these celestial movements and actually made structures to capture the sun’s rays. Did they stay up all night, night after night, somehow measuring the movements of the stars? I am doing well to make it to 10 PM most nights. I can’t imagine watching the heavens night after night, year after year, tracking the movements of the moon and stars.
I have been privileged to visit Stonehenge in England, Manchu Picchu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and the great Egyptian pyramids of Giza. I remain astounded at the level of knowledge and skill that these ancient peoples had. With no modern tools or clocks, how did they ever achieve such accurate measurements of exactly when the summer or winter sun would strike a particular spot?
As this year draws to a close, I look forward to the soft, muffled sounds of winter with a blanket of new snow on the ground and watching football in front of a crackling fire, of course with a fine wine right beside me. Whatever your favorite season may be, treasure the moments as the planets and stars course through the heavens!
