Fall has fallen!

Ah, Autumn, that most beautiful of all disappointments, that twist ending in a love story that ends in death and misery. You know what I'm talking about.

A sunset glow lights a brilliant fire of light on the already colourful
Fall leaves,with storm clouds gathering in the background.

It is hard to deny that the coppers, golds, yellows, oranges and reds make the Fall among the most stunning of the seasons. But the crisp air belies the truth in it's beauty. Like a lover scorned, the attraction of the season always ends the same way: in angry cold, in rain, in snow... in Winter. In Fall, as my breath hangs in the air, the late afternoon sun filtering through tree-lined streets on my way home... I'm almost willing to say my 'I do's', so capitvated I am with the splendor of a Japanese maple or cherry tree in full Fall brillance. In the end, though, I get cold feet and run out of the church.

If Fall fell, say, after spring and before summer somehow, hands down this would be my favourite season. But thoughts of Winter ruin it for me every time.

Kicking at the (unusually) crisp fallen leaves.

For the past few weeks, we've been in the phase of new romance. The Vancouver area has enjoyed an unusal spate of sunny weather, where normally we're treated to seemingly endless days of rain by now. Not so in 2013. Crisp leaves are falling gently to the ground of their own accord, rather than being ripped and beaten from the branches by a cruel wind or sudden downpour. It was sweet for a few weeks. You'll note in the attached video, which chronicles a recent Canadian Thanksgiving spent with family--partly on my brother's boat and partly on Bowen Island--that Vitamin D has been in plentiful supply:

How awesome would it be to have this fog on Halloween night, though? 

But this past week, the fog has socked in around us, barely allowing the sun a moment's appearance on most days, especially down by the water's edge. The chill is in the air. It's as though the sun can't be bothered to get out of bed in the morning, even though the rest of us have to get up in the dim grey. The trees all of a sudden appear around me as skeletons, and with exception of our own cherry tree which refuses to change colour and drop leaves until December, there is nothing but raking left to look forward to in the yard. Damn you, Fall. Damn you, you did it again. Every year, the same! Just get it over with already! Rip off the bandaid! Bring the rain! See if I care!

Enjoying the playground while the sun still shines,
before rainpants and coats become mandatory

OK, it's not all so bad. Seems an unthankful attittude to have so close on the heels of thanksgiving itself, and  especially as amazing a thanksgiving as it was!  So by no means should this little rant be considered as representative of my view on life these days. Really, this is Winter's fault. I like to ski and all, but really. Snow is useless. Okay, this is turning into another blog post...

Now... where is my rake...