Gold Rush

A Golden View, Park City

Autumn. The word itself gives me a rush. This week the canyon looked like a variegated carpet, woven to conceal the parched, brown hills. To make things even cooler, it has rained since Friday! We're just soaking it all in. I continually fall for fall.

Today was perfect. We arrived home from church at noon, opened the windows to let a crisp cross-breeze flutter our blinds, and got comfy. Dee snuggled under the duvet and fell asleep, and I read the newspaper to the sound of rain, and a few rumbles of thunder. Later we ran between the drops and crunched through damp leaves to devour a pot roast dinner, followed by Marta's homemade chocolate souffle. Right now I'm listening to cars splash through puddles and looking out at street lights reflected in the mist, while watching an occasional glimmer of lightning.

Mother Nature can be very generous (when she's being good natured.) Did you know that a fully mature oak tree sheds about seven hundred thousand leaves every year? I'm pretty mature. I wonder how many little bits of color I've spread around this year. Seventy? Seven hundred? Think of all the trees she dots along the fall foliage trails, and all the oo's and ahh's she inspires. At least seven hundred thousand.

I'm no Mother Nature, but my little crop has spread some bits of color around since last September. In harvest terms, I've had a good yield. (I can't count to 700,000, but I'm good for seven.)

1. Twin grand daughters were born healthy, full-term and beautiful.
2. Summer camp in the woods featured extra wildlife from CO.
   
3. The cross-country trekkers found a new home in MO.
   
4. Kindergarten anxieties ended brilliantly for both mothers and daughters.
   
5. Marriage has proven to be blissful for the newlyweds.
   
6. A certain Law and Order team are closer to the final verdict.
7. Biker-Dad's helmet saved the day.

It may have been just a trick of the autumn light, but today everything looked golden.