Lessons on Leaf Lorn Logs

There were lessons

left on leaf-lorn logs

in lost languages

but leaning between the lines

he believed the Beloved

had begun a better

and necessary day

longing and belonging

for community and comfort

beneath and between

the Birch and the Beech

the Walnut and the Willow

and the grace-like story

of the understory

and the Moss and the Maple leaves

and all the wildland woods

had begun to tell a tale

of Winter's Rest

Growing Old

I heard John Burroughs

in the Autumn woods today

he said

“How beautifully leaves grow old.

How full of light and color are their last days.”

and I could not disagree

not if I wanted to

But after their light is dimmed

and after their color faded

Autumn leaves still grow old beautifully

becoming Winter leaves with

the common decency to leave

some of themselves behind

I hope to grow old like that

An Unnecessary Illusion

The snow covering and ice sprinkling

gave the illusion of a new world

fresh, undisturbed, untouched and unpolluted.

This was only an illusion, of course.

The pavement and dirt and grime

still lay there beneath the snow

the plastic and cans and detritus still lined the creek bed,

even though it was covered and made beautiful by the ice.

An illusion, but a pleasant one, just the same.

Taken the right way, it gives us license to imagine a better world

a more clean, pure, delightful and beautiful world.

At its very best, it might even inspire us to take up (or continue)

the struggle for a better day and a better world

one improved by our choices and actions

rather than being made worse.

Winter is Stepping Near

Winter is stepping nearer

colder days and bleaker

and dear Autumn is wearing thin

we feel tired and weaker

but less of day means

more of night

more of rest

less blinding light

more of comfort

at year's end

more time to gather

with family and friend

A Cousin to the Sycamore

When I travel by canoe, by bicycle, by crutch,

by foot or by wheelchair

I am part of this wide world

 

I am in and of and with the earth and

the earth with me.

 

I am a cousin to that sycamore

over yonder, at the river's edge

and part of that titmouse

dancing in her branches

I am part of that simpering stream that

empties into the river and

that ancient turtle

slipping beneath her rolling waters

 

I am part of those jackrabbits scattering from

them blackberry brambles

where that mockingbird sat

just minutes ago

before she flew away towards that stream

of which I am a part

 

We sometimes speak of "the Environment"

as if it were this

Thing

separate and apart from us

and us from it

but we're not

At least not until we choose to be so

I Hesitate to Bring This Up...

At the confluence of the Beargrass and the Ohio

where a wild winter wind

blows the leaves back up the oak tree

where the mallard and his mate huddle

beneath a fallen sycamore

where eddies swirl and dark waves

kiss the shore goodbye

There are no addresses.

No street numbers to be marked on a map

and kept in a file cabinet at city hall

with a corresponding Owner’s name

Because there are no Owners.

There are no claimants on the water

as it rolls from creek to river to ocean

and back again.

And it surprised me today

as I thought about it

That no one had ever bought the Ohio outright.

 

Yet.

Life in Three Acts

There was a play staged

by a forest primeval

I had a bit part

I served as the stage manager

in a play within a play

put on for my own benefit

I was also the audience

I wrote the plot

which included a twist ending

which I did not see coming

turns out, I was not

the author of the play

after all, just a patsy

Life, in three acts

beginning with the denouement

they'll never see it coming

Walking Through Autumn: Week 10

As Autumn winds down
the colors are no longer as bright
reds, gold, yellows and oranges
have been replaced by

mahogany, rust, leather and copper

But

just as Autumn starts to fade in glory

the ancient Ginkgo trees have

exploded with their

bright yellow joy

bringing a new day

...and this, too, will fade

but the circle of the year will

roll on and on

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've reached that time of Autumn

when it's less about the brightness of the

color of the fallen leaves

and more about the depth of the color

Some piles of bronzed and leathered leaves

suggest the possibility of stepping

right through them into another World

Deep, welcoming, mystery
let us enter therein

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through August: Week 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I began watching Autumn last month
the predominant sweet Autumn smell I smelled was walnut

Walnuts falling from the trees and releasing their
succulent scent everywhere

Now, at the peak of the Fall Colors,
I’m smelling a little bit of everything

The sassafras and all the oaks, the maple and the walnut
sweet gum, tulip poplar, sycamore, chestnut, elm...
They’re all there, baptizing the woods and
all who enter therein

 

Let us stir those holy waters

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 7

What we think of as “Autumn” - at least in our part of the world
are the weeks when the oaks and maples begin to turn

That time has arrived

The tulip poplars, sycamore and hickories
have been browning and going yellow for weeks now
each with their own charm
but this week
the oaks and maples are making
their golden and red presence be known

May we recognize that glory while it’s here

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 6

It’s been a bumper year for acorns
rolling across the forest floor in all shapes and sizes

They say that each oak tree produces ten thousand acorns
and of those thousands of acorns
most are eaten by animals and only one or two
become a mature mighty oak
and yet

not one of them goes to waste

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
It was a week of yellow
gold and bright amber

The walnut leaves fell in clumps
alongside the basswood, northern spicebush, tulip poplar and pawpaw
a golden yellow that spoke of the sun and the seasons
and bright days yet to be

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 4

The seasons tend to move in a predictable manner
The Summer flowers fade and Autumn flowers begin
the green fades and the brown and gold and red and yellow begin

But sometimes
we find a Queen Anne’s Lace
     even though they should have quit blooming in August

Flowering in October

I call them Queen Anne’s Grace

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 3

The White Snakeroot’s Latin name means
     Ageless

presumably because it keeps blooming deep into Autumn
hanging on while the walnut leaves and walnuts fall all around
and the horse chestnut pods burst open

exposing their deep rich red-gold nuts

all in preparation for generations still undreamt of

Snakeroot, yellow walnut leaves
a pinecone and
horse chestnut fruit

The horse chestnut fruit

mahogany polish

an antique in one season

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 2

The tall ironweed is one of the last wildflowers of summer
with brilliant, impossibly deep purple blooms
and leaves falling from the sycamore and beech
often find themselves entangled in her embrace
while the Smooth Sumac begins its fade to Red
And Autumn begins with hints of glory-yet-to-be

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Walking Through Autumn: Week 1

 

Good News

We are called to live

like leaves falling to the ground

soon joining as one

not in defeat or death

but in delightful harmony

a beloved community

making the world rich

this Fall is not our ending

it is Salvation

 

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This Autumn, I took time to take regular photos and notes to map the passing days of the Fall season...

Sweet Gum Autumn Began Like a Thunderstorm

The starry leaves of sweet gum

called down glory like meteors

like brilliant lights of heaven

raining down on our simple green world

like a mystery unsolved

and unsolvable

and perfectly magnificent

A Light Within Autumn Leaves

There is a light within autumn leaves
holding fast to days gone by

and lighting a way for days yet to be

When I can
I live within those leaves

Two Square Inches

I found two square inches

in the middle of a medium sized woods

in the middle of a fairly large city

and those two square inches contained

more beauty and

more information and

more details to explore

than I could have possibly imagined

or have time to finish examining

And then

I turned around and found

another two square inches

that was filled with

infinity

and I wondered what hope

I could possibly have to ever

understand and comprehend

more than

two square inches

And so

I embraced grace

rather than understanding