Friday afternoon I arrived home just after a rainshower and found myself surrounded by fall leaves glistening and sparkling in the sudden sunshine. I reached for the camera bag but it wasn't in the car but before I'd unzipped it the sun had ducked behind the clouds and the rain was falling again.
Every year at this time I keep catching moments like these--sun hitting red and yellow leaves until they appear to be lit from within, my road passing between walls of shimmering color, the sky above dotted with brilliant red maple leaves. And every year I try to capture those moments on camera, with little success. Sure, I get some colorful leaves, but the picture lacks the sound of leaves rustling and woodpeckers chattering and squirrels skittering through the woods, and somehow the colors in the photo lack liveliness and brilliance.
Autumn color is so ephemeral. Right now my house is surrounded by colorful trees, but every gust of wind sends a cascade of yellow and red flying past my windows, and the hillsides along my route are already showing big patches of brown where the tree limbs are bare and foreboding. I love this season while it lasts, but once the leaves start turning there's no stopping them. Which means, I suppose, that we'd better go outside and enjoy them while we can, with or without the camera.
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