Autumn in the Air

The feel of autumn hovers over the city this morning. The light is so low outside it seems like evening.  It is cold even with my thick robe on and I want to make hot chocolate and sit by a roaring fire or go back to bed.  Fall is more than knocking on my door it has burst into my abode and I want to take the chill out of the air.  It seems that summer has passed every so quickly and I wish for more sunny days with a warm sun.  My maple tree has turned shades of yellow, orange and pink in anticipation of the time all the trees fall into slumber to tough out the approaching winter.  

My favorite time of fall is when the sun is out, with a roaring blue sky and leaves clutter the sidewalks so that I have to trudge through them, tossing them up into the air and smelling the coming time of breaking down of plant material.  It is Nature’s clock reminding us that we need to slow down, savor the few days of Indian summer until we are hold up in our borrows to brace against bitter cold winds and pelting rain.

It is time for football, band music, women wearing mums on their lapels do women do this any more?  At the U of Oregon the crowds walking to a Ducks game women wore bright yellow mums adding color to dark brown wool coats and mufflers.  I loved going to the games and sitting in the Knot Hole section I think it cost all of a dollar.  The natural grass field was a trial for the players, especially if there had been a good rain, and parts of the field became mud puddles.  It was great fun to see the players slide through slosh, obliterating not only their jerseys but also the line markers.  Only the quarterback was pristine in his uniform, his guards, tackles and receivers were all covered on mud.  And on a good rainy day the football was like a greased pig and no one could hold on to it.

Now the games are essentially played on artificial turf. I would watch the Green Bay Packers play on real turf and even snow and the other teams seem to play a kind of pantywaist kind of game, staying clean and pristine on essentially a rug.I long for the old days.  Like the changing seasons I have to expect change in everything else.