Fall Favorites

The walk between the hospital and nursing home the last two days have left no doubt in my mind that fall is here and I have noticed other understated changes in the flora and fauna around here; and since it seems like we have had only about five days of summer, this has me somewhat distressed.

Alaska does not have the notable colors that have people flocking to the East Coast, but the subtle changes that happen in this state are truly amazing and awe inspiring. The trees are rapidly changing from green to yellow; the cotton woods are the fastest, and their changes are like the quick changes of actors between scenes. The birch trees are a bit more reserved, they change slowly, a leaf here or there, then a branch, till slowly and quite unexpectedly the whole tree has done a change.

The most spectacular change here is the fireweed. Fireweed is one of the most resilient plants on the planet, and true to its name it is the first thing to come back after a forest fire. It has a tendency to be some what of a nuisance for those people that try to have formal flower beds, but as a wild flower it is beautiful. The bright fuchsia pink flowers grow on stalks three to four feet high and grown in huge patches around the mountain sides.

The brilliance of these flowers is overwhelming and their fall color is no less spectacular. Once the mist starts rolling around the tops of the mountains and shrouds the tree line with her cold, yet steamy presence, the fireweed begins to change. The change is rapid, overnight it goes from green to various shades of bronze, rust and red. This year was even more spectacular as the fire weed was so late in blooming that there were still spots of hot pink; providing an amazing contrast with those early notes of colorful Autumnal foliage.

The fireweed is done blooming now, and the seed pods are standing tall along side the remnants of the Queen Annes Lace, their big brown seed pods still resembling the white lacy heads that are such a part of our summer. Now their proud stance reminds us that the end of the summer is here, and that Madam Winter is on her way. Winter is my least favorite season with the cold and wet, but the change from summer to fall is truly an amazing process. There is something calming, peaceful and even prayerful about the changes that the world goes through as it prepares to rest.

I think that the reason I love fall is that is it such a strong reminder of what we need in our emotional lives, our spiritual lives and our prayer lives; to take time to gear down, to make adequate preparations for respite. It is only through those times of rest that we can allow enough time in our lives to recharge. If we keep our live in a constant state of growth and change, we will eventually wear ourselves out and be very unhealthy. We like Mother Nature need to have seasons in our life, and when we do, we have balance.