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Signs of the seasons
I've suddenly realized it's the middle of October, and as of yet the only sign of summer coming to an end in Texas is slightly cooler weather.
Being an Indiana country boy, I find myself looking to the things happening outside the window for clues as to what time of year it is. Springtime is easy-- tractors tilling the fields in preparation for planting corn. The first dandelion bursting into brilliant yellow against the deep spring green growth along the roadside. The last of the snow melting away finally, giving way to the glorious colorful spring flowers. Cherry trees blossom, and gradually also the pear and apple trees. The buds fill the trees, and the bright green leaves suddenly give shape to the trees that seemed only yesterday to be bare sticks!
The signs of summer are just as important-- the most important moment of the year is the warm evening we see the first firefly flicker its yellow light, seen first out of the corner of the eye. We sit crosslegged in the damp grass, waiting for the dark to be complete, so we can run about the back yard chasing and collecting the magical glowing creatures to put in your Mason jar! (Don't forget to set them free before you go back inside!) But before going in for the night, take a while to lie back on the grass, and look up at the glorious glitter of the Milky Way as it spreads from horizon to horizon high above us in the endless blackness. This is something the city-dwellers will never ever see, trapped with all that light around them all night long!
Autumn is the beautiful time, of course. It's the moment God has chosen to display His creative artistry to the fullest, as the plants and leaves suddenly begin turning all the colors of the rainbow-- brilliant red, deep orange, and dark purple. This is the moment to feel sorry for those who have spent their lives inside the concrete jungle, because they can never understand what it's like to stand out in the middle of all this glory! (In the old days, before all the pollution, smog, haze and such gathered its strength to create an obviously fake "global warming" trend, (yes, that was sarcasm, in case you were wondering!) those of us out in the country would rake the leaves from our yards into great, glorious mounds, and after we kids got tired of jumping into them and playing, we'd light the browned leaves afire and roast marshmallows over the flames. The pungent, unique aroma of the burning leaves will stay with me forever-- there's nothing else like it!)
The colors gradually fade, the weather chills, the butterflies and insects disappear, and the warm, brilliant blue skies turn gray and cold, and the first flakes of cold white crystal begin to magically fill the air. This gradually becomes the season of snowmen, catching icy flakes of winter on our waiting tongues, and of course it's time for the grand winter battle consisting of beautiful, round, white, gleaming snowballs!
The glowing furnace keeps the house warm and snug, and we all snuggle in, imitating the bears in their caves, growing sleepy and content. We lie back and dream of the day the dandelions burst forth again....
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Note: If you enjoyed reading this, feel free to pass it on. I enjoy testing my writing skills occasionally, but I never can tell how it comes out. I do know I will never get rich from it, and it's not important to me to protect my thoughts. In a hundred years, who's gonna care anyway? ;-)
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