Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold,
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost
I’ve been observing the changing seasons here in Brook Hollow, trying to adjust to not having the brilliant colors of the Blue Ridge, and enjoying not having to scrape frost off the windshield in the morning.
Fall comes slowly in Texas it seems. Green lawns turn a kind of grey, then brown, green leaves fall before changing color, so trees go from fully clothed to skeletons in short periods of time. Some people are closely connected to the seasons too I think. Before daylight savings time, I found it difficult to wake and dress before it was light. Now in the early weeks after daylight savings, I’m up, have cleaned the house (!) and am early on the job. We are at some level connected to the rhythm of the sun and seasons….(so why is it 1 AM and I’m up typing this?)
Many people view Fall as an ending. The termination of the growing season, the time to hibernate, dig in, store up for a long winter, which many don’t look forward to. I’d admit that there have been Winters I haven’t look forward to, but this one that’s on the way is different. I do have the profound sense that something is coming to a close, but the events of this past week make it clear to me that something profound is beginning.
A fellow named Peter Levine has a blog on civic renewal I happened upon today with some comments on Fall. One that I especially appreciated was a counterpoint to the view that Fall is the ending of growth, Winter is the seasonal death, and Spring the time of renewal and beginning. This comment refers to Autumn as a time for inner clarity and renewal in the traditional Jewish cycle of the seasons. I think that’s what I’m experiencing, a clarity and renewal that I see more of each day this Fall.
Another comment is more to the point of current events, Autumn is the time when careers begin. Think about that in the context of the elections, hundreds of well-intentioned citizens were elected to office this past week in all kinds of posts from local councils to governors to the President-elect. The comment also refers to the beginning of scholarly careers. This is a little harder to see now that most school calendars are divorced from the needs of the harvest. In the past school would begin when the harvest was completed. Having a store of food meant it was time to learn. It connected the university with the land. Being at an Agriculture and Mechanics school now, I like that, it has a nice resonance I think.
A friend pointed out that Fall is also the time when nature prepares for Spring. The buds that will blossom are being prepared now, safe within the frost-protected confines of dry twigs and branches. Outwardly, the natural world goes dormant over the Winter, inside, inside, life goes on. I’m seeing that in myself now. Inside some things are ending, there is a period of dormancy ahead, reflection, but I can tell that next years life is forming.
I’ve been listening to Norah Jones tonight as I write to you all. These lines come from “Shoot the Moon”
“Now the Fall is here again
You can’t begin to give in
It’s all over”
It sounds sad, and proposes we not accept the coming of Winter, but I believe its true that in every ending, however sad, there is a beginning. And that after each ending, we need the time for reflection that Winter affords us. How else can we know how to bloom in the Spring?
So I don’t know what to expect for Winter here in Texas. Will it snow? Will there be ice? Should I stock up now? Unlike some of the winters I’ve known, I’m hoping to invite this one into Brook Hollow, to let the 40 degree air inside while I’m warm under the blanket. Perfect weather for sleeping, which is where I’m heading now.
Take Care you-all, be good to each other, add some sparkle to the life of a person you don’t know this week. Say hello with a smile, open a door, carry a burden…it’ll make the Winter warmer for us all.
