Autumn

Autumn/Fall is fully here. The early morning temperature is in the 40's and we've had unseasonably hot days (90's and 80's). The colors are shifting from orange to brown. The killdeer are back. This morning, while sitting on the porch I heard a flock of them calling while flying in the early morning light. (For photos and sounds of these wonderful plovers, here is a good site: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/id)

In the middle of the land we have let the meadow remain. It is unclear how much is native and how much introduced species, but it is allowed to grow wild. This is a place where the animals can wander through and hide in. In the center is a winding trail and on the edge another trail. While walking the side trail I came upon a Cottontail Rabbit that had been mostly eaten. Was it an owl or was it the Bobcat? Since we saw the Bobcat earlier in the summer we have seen very few rabbits.

This is a time of transition from the heat of summer to the cool of Fall. It is the transitional period before the winter rains. This year it is a major transition for us because we buried our furry companion of 19 years on the property. Shiva died last Friday. Cancer had made her life increasingly pain. This little cat was an integrated part of our family and she is missed. Euthanize comes for Greek meaning good death. We were with her when she died and still it is such a conflicting choice about making a decision about another being's life. We have taken a vow of non-harming. But is it more harm to have her suffer through a painful death?

The morning we did a ceremony for her two Great Horned Owls began to call and fly in front of us. One of the owls flew back and forth over the meadow, alighting on the tallest fir near the house. We have never seen them this close to the house. Are there omens? In some aboriginal cultures of SE Alaska (I've heard), the sound of an owl calling is a symbol of death. It was a fitting marker to her transition from this life. It was at that time that we laid her in the ground, covered her and placed a seated Buddha above her.

The word Autumn originally comes to the English language from Old French (autumpne) and to there from Latin autumnus. We also refer to this time of year as Fall, which comes to us from Norse, meaning "falling from a great height." This time of year used to be referred to as Harvest. (The English language is such an amalgam of the linguistic world, no wonder some people say it is so hard to learn.)

It is a time of transition. A time of turning inward. All over the northern hemisphere the winter approaches and the time of hibernation is upon us. A natural time for putting on layers of extra fat. It is the time of migration to the south (most of our songbirds have left and we only fill the feeders every other day) and for the last gatherings by our gray squirrels.

It is also approaching a year that we have been here. With the start of this Fall we have seen all four seasons. Soon the rock hard ground will soften and the grasses will grow quickly (at one point last winter it was up to my knees). A dusting of snow will appear, which will mark the full cycle of seasons that we've shared with this place.

Travel well and I will leave you with a poem.

Leaves
by Elsie Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.