Changing Seasons

What doesn't belong in this picture?

We drove north of the city this first weekend of autumn to get apples and passed this Old Order Mennonite meeting house. A large funeral service was underway and it was odd to see a car parked between the horses. A row of black cars lined the gravel roadway and at the bend in the road, a large yellow school bus was parked at the edge of a field, undoubtedly hired to bring mourners from another county. The 85 year old man who died had a family service in his home and was then moved to the meeting house for another service and burial in the cemetery. I listened to the congregation sing in four part harmony with no musical instruments as the horses snorted and pawed at the ground outside.

Fall is in the air and the trees are starting to turn to red, orange and gold. Nights are cool and mist rises from the warm ground in the early morning. Apples hang heavy on branches in the orchard and Cortlands, my favourite applesauce variety, are finally available. We carried away pie pumpkins, fresh squash and plums from the farm stand which was decorated with bright pots of mums.

Early fall colour above the apple orchard

The meadows have their own special fall hues with yellow goldenrod alongside purple and white asters. Monarch butterflies gather on the blossoms as they begin their long journey south. Even with shortening days and the surety of five months of ice and snow ahead, I enjoy autumn more than summer (definitely more than winter). There is certainty in the cycle of seasons...rebirth, growth, harvest and death in a world that seems uncertain economically and politically. Life has its ups and downs but it is a wise person who lets go, patiently sits back and allows things unfold as they should.