This morning, when I left for work, the year's first bit of autumnal splendor greeted me like an old friend. Not the changing of the leaves - SF doesn't get much of that. It was the air and light. Do you remember the air and light of changing seasons, when you were a child, and the way those changes were like living things? For me, this time of year...the time of brisk air and shorter days, of overcast skies wrestling for dominance over sunlight....this time of year is like an old playmate come back for another round of hide-and-seek. The air and light remind me of new school supplies, sharpened pencils, the sound of a rubber ball bouncing on the asphalt, afternoons spent at the library, and the crunching of leaves under my feet as I'd cut through Prospect Park to walk home. And also Halloween, with candy corn - always so much nicer to look at than to actually eat. The thing about autumn - the air and light - it's over in the blink of an eye. Like everything.
6 comments:
so evocative and kinetic, this essay. I love this time of year so much, too.
Do I remember the changing of the air between seasons? Honey, I can bottle that up and send it to you if you miss it. Chicago is chock-full of it. Lovely post. Hi!
I love the way the light falls this time of year. Every day the sun is a little bit lower in the sky and familiar scenes are cast in a new light.
I love it too--for the same reasons you do. In LA we don't get much in the way of leaves changing, but the change in the quality of light, the crisping of the air, that's my favorite.
I love it too. I'm a CA girl and used to live in the Bay Area. Now, I'm on the east coast and get the real thing. I don't like that it's a prelude to a long cold winter here. That, I will never get used to.
I don't remember even paying attention to it when I was a kid, but I appreciate those changes now as an adult. You need to try candy corn mixed in with peanuts, maybe even some chocolate chips. Take my word for it!
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