Autumn gives a lesson on aging

When I’ve had a few minutes this past year, I’ve often gotten up from my desk, stretched, and looked out my office window at several tall trees in my back yard. The trees have taught me a valuable lesson on living my life and the aging process.

The leaves on the trees came on strong in the spring. They budded and flourished, turning a bright green in the summer. In the fall, the trees, especially the largest one, now sparkles a bright yellowish, green. Some of the leaves have already started to fall and turned a rusty brown. And yes, in a few short weeks all of the trees, outside of one lone evergreen, will have shed all their leaves and will look bare and stark.

The trees have reminded me how I want to live my life to the fullest and, when my time comes, hopefully years into the future, how I want to perish. Conservationist John Burroughs described it this way: “How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”

Yes, nature has the right idea, full of light and color until the last.

I’ve been writing about my love of fall in the Northeast U.S. the past two weekends. Here’s a few more images. My photos really don’t do the season justice, but hopefully they brighten your day.

Related stories:

• Mother Nature tells fall to wait its turn
• One last fall blast of color