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Fall
.... means swishing boots in the dusty leaves, crunching, crackling the dry sheddings of the mighty oaks and maples overhead as they seek to ready themselves for the onslaught of winter winds and frigid days and nights, filling the forest floor with a carpet of reds, yellows, oranges, umbers, greens, browns of a thousand shades, walking on a quilt of many leaves, all mixed together in a gorgeous riot of colours filling my soul with happiness to know how broad the palette of our heavenly Father is
....means watching the leaves doing a wild and crazy air dance as they whirl, spin, float and drop towards the waiting stream, then touching down on the currents and immediately sinking, spinning, drowning, swirling as they are taken down the wild rushing pathway of bubbling, sparkling, gurgling, laughing water, the water brightening the hues of the just-fallen leaf and making it sparkle in a last gleam of glory
....means seeing the produce coming off the land in abundance, stacked high in the farmer's market, piles of orange and green and brown, speckled or lumpy or smooth or knobbly shapes with millions of seeds hidden in their soft orange hearts, ears of indian corn wonderfully arrayed kernels hidden in rustly stiff leaves that smell so good
....means smelling cinnamon and apples and sugar all being blended into wonderful, mouth-watering concoctions of yummy endless delight, filling your nose with the smells of home and comfort and memory
... means crisp days and nights, when vests and scarves can come out of summer hiding places and once again provide comfort and a barrier against the cold breezes which seek to nibble away at your neck and cheeks and impart their icy bite to your bare skin, causing everything to be red and rosy when you finally enter a warm respite from the chill
... means the dying away of the old self, with all its bitter and brittle opinions, motives and reasonings to be brought to life again through the springtime of our Lord, the redeeming love of our God bringing new and bright life and hope to lives desperately in need of renewal and revival in the midst of a dark and dreary world, in turn to bring life to those around us.
