Falling in love with Fall...

When I was a little girl, I can remember making "leaf forts" with the leaves that our parents "let" us rake. My twin brother and I would make a skeleton out of bark, limbs, anything we could find and then stuff these colorful, crispy leaves into the structure. Believe it or not, these forts were pretty strong and actually really awesome. I can remember laying inside of one of our forts gazing up through the bright leaves into the crisp blue chilled sky. What a memory! I love fall. I love the memories it evokes.

I have had the blessed opportunity to experience the Fall Season twice. I was in upstate New York in early October where the leaves were on fire with brilliance. This week, here in good 'ole North Carolina, the trees are so beautiful and bright- they are literally distracting. I can't really drive as well as I ought because I'm focused on such beautiful, clear colors.

Someone told me the amazing chemistry behind the changing of leaves- something about the how the glucose in the leaves gets trapped when the photosynthesis stops (the signal of winter: shorter days and light). The trees "know" when to stop chemical exchange, thus leading to the changing of colors and eventually they fall off. Awesome, huh?

This season, like every other, seems so short- like it had just begun a couple days ago. Yet in a couple of weeks, these trees around me will become bare bones, exposing their skeletons to all. I could say the usual "life is short, like the seasons so enjoy it while you have it" kind of thing; I'm feeling more pulled to say simply that our earth is beautiful. Still cheesy, yet it's what I have been thinking every day when I see these colors.

The things God created, what they do, what they look like in these short seasons- are simply BEAUTIFUL.