It’s still autumn in our yard!

October 12th, a day when it would not be improbable to have snow, when all of our neighbors have already lost the leaves from the Alaskan birch and aspen trees, our yard is orange and yellow and golden and sunshiny. We have some pretty petunias, snap dragons, and pansies still surviving the frosty nights. There is a thick carpet of gold leaves from the mountain ash that just now decided to become a beautiful bower of autumn’s last stand. I am loving it. The gorgeous light reflecting off the leaves fills our normally dark living room with a warm glow. I don’t know why we have been blessed with one of the most beautiful summers and now autumns of my memory, but I am thanking God for it

When winter comes, as it must, I will let out a contented sigh. This Autumn seems to be like the “finale” in a fireworks display or the encore at a concert. The soft, pure snow will seem as perfect as the silence after the last firework crackles in the sky or when the lights come on after the lovely strains of concert music die away. I thank God for His design in nature. And I hope I will always have a mountain ash in my yard to enjoy in the autumn.