“The one red leaf, the last of its clan,
That dances as often as dance it can,
Hanging so light, and hanging so high,
On the topmost twig that looks up at the sky.”
“There is a harmony
In autumn, and a luster in its sky…”
~Percy Bysshe Shelley
Autumn’s harmony is deeply felt and completely absorbed. This is a season of completion and reflection, and of shimmering beauty, luster and radiance. The grasses and trees are shining forth in full fruition of their potential. The forests rich in greens and yellows.
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are October’s”
-L. M. Montgomery
“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.”
~Jim Bishop
“The time of the falling leaves has come again. Once more in our morning walk we tread upon carpets of gold and crimson, of brown and bronze, woven by the winds or the rains out of these delicate textures while we slept.
How beautifully the leaves grow old! How full of light and color are their last days! There are exceptions, of course. The leaves of most of the fruit-trees fade and wither and fall ingloriously. They bequeath their heritage of color to their fruit. Upon it they lavish the hues which other trees lavish upon their leaves….
But in October what a feast to the eye our woods and groves present! The whole body of the air seems enriched by their calm, slow radiance. They are giving back the light they have been absorbing from the sun all summer.”
~John Burroughs, “The Falling Leaves,” Under the Maples
“The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth … the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see.”
Tim Rains is a Ranger in Glacier National Park. He is also a talented writer and photographer who posts regularly on Glacier’s Facebook page. I love sharing his prose and the way he absorbs his personal experience of being in the wild places. You feel the love he shares with this wondrous environment… *if you’re not connected to the Glacier National Park page do it now, I know you’ll enjoy it!
water is life, water is life, water is life,
this is a place for the wild,
looking up, and out, and down,
