FLOATING MAPLE LEAVES

Floating : float·ing : flōdiNG : [adjective] : buoyant or suspended in water or air.

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Fall seems to be the shortest season of the year.

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Each year it begins in late September,

with a few leaves drifting to the ground, or skittering along

the ribbon of blacktop behind the vehicle ahead of you on the road.

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By late October,

the glory of brilliant foliage dressed in hues

of red, orange and yellow dance before our eyes

as the still warm sunshine seems to shine

not from above and without

but from within

each leaf.

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  This past week,

I drove up to Packwood WA,

turning north on Skate Creek Road

to immerse myself in a very rural 23 mile drive

along the rushing and tumbling Skate Creek.

My eyes were blessed and wowed with visual treasures

around each bend in the winding road,

only to be usurped by the next view around the next bend, to my delight.

Here, I’ve captured some Broad Leaf Maple leaves,

one drifting, many floating in the clear, cold water of Skate Creek.

One is set free for a few moments

before adding its presence to the jumble of other maple leaves

bunched and floating near

the creek bank.

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Three hundred forty one digital images later,

I arrived that end of Skate Creek Road in Ashford WA,

near the Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.

I hope your week was filled with

the brilliance and

glory of fall.

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Blessings Always,