Fall colors, October 2003 (Jason Clark)

“October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations above them once again.”
– Hal Borland

The wind shifted last night. The door to the guest bedroom rattled in a different way this morning. I could fix the latch, but it has become a barometer of sorts. An unreliable barometer, it turns out.

I thought I would be faced with a sharply colder wind when I went walking on the green this morning, but instead the breeze, though steady, was almost warm. This was a surprise because the air has been distinctly autumnal this week. It feels as though we have been granted a small reprieve.

September has been a busy month. The garage/office project is in its final stages. It isn’t quite complete, but we are having a party anyway.

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to Miami for a business conference. Our time there coincided with a near-miss by Tropical Storm Rita. The winds were high and the rains heavy, and that’s about as near as I would like to come to that particular kind of weather.

We had our first rehearsal for the Christmas Revels this week. Hold onto your hats, we’re goin’ to Russia and Eastern Europe this year. The first song we sang was the Ukrainian “Carol of the Bells,” which is so very pretty. I think they were just softening us up before hitting us with the heavy-duty Georgian stuff. So it begins — September 26th and we’re singing Christmas music.

Leaf season has barely begun. It’s late this year and I suspect it will be lackluster. The summer was unusually dry and that is often blamed for dull colors. I don’t know the science behind it all, but as I type, I can see partially brown leaves drifting by the window. We will be traveling again during what should be the peak season. When we made our plans, I was a little sad to think I would miss it. Now it seems it may miss us.