Heart of the Sunrise

Hudson River School mornings of late. There have been more than a few mornings lately in which the sunrise over the river has been something out of a Thomas Cole. This has been a breathtaking autumn, and I'm very happy to be at such a great point in life, where I can appreciate it all.

We follow the river in the morning, the Androscoggin, the same river Stephen King and I used to walk home from school. It's been a period of great success on the writing front. I'd like to think there's some symmetry in the sunrise.

Transitions

The sugar maple out front is bare now, the leaves blanketing the lawn in patchwork red, yellow and orange. Chill mornings, chill evenings, wood smoke wafting across the road every few miles. Pumpkins and Mums have replaced Corn and Rhododendrons at the farm stands, and the school bus regularly thwarts our morning commute. Autumn in New England. Almost winter in New England.

And today a Saturday of wash-out rain and contemplation. It’s the transition season now. Now that the tree is bare, now that morning frost becomes more frequent, now that Halloween is almost gone and Thanksgiving awaits. The pause before the hard facts of winter. Still repose, waiting for the next chapter of the year.

The past few weekends have taken us from the highest point on the Eastern seaboard to the western hills to Rt. 1 from Boston to Portland to home. Fairs and family, grub and grog, spectacular autumn snapshots for posterity. It will take a while for the frames to develop, but I will carry the warm feeling always.

Autumn ending, winter impending. Nothing gold can stay.

A pause for Autumn. And because I can pause.

Gray, gentle rain impending, chilly. Autumnal. This is all very much welcome: the gray makes the brilliance of the foliage pop and the rain makes planning anything beyond reading and coffee an exercise in futility. I’m on vaca, and for once, I’m actually allowing myself to be on vaca. Flatline blood pressure, not worrying if the house isn’t cleaned before 8:00 AM, not going crazy trying to prospect new clients, NOT thinking about work. I’m drifting, and I’m okay with it.

Do not disturb…