Letting Go Stinks

Philadelphia

Halloween's just around the corner. Cool mornings and shorter days usher in the first frost. And that every-four- year Fall event, national elections, is only weeks away.

I am slow to let go, especially of things I love, like summer. So, I offer you, dear reader, three images from the now gone summer. The great blue heron was just feet away from me when I snapped this shot of him as he strolled up onto the bank of the stream one summer morning.

I live on Darby Creek which winds for miles from west of Philadelphia until it joins the Delaware River. The second shot was taken this summer as a friend and I canoed down part of the Creek, spotting the remnants of circa 1600 early American settlements, mostly Swedish, on the banks of the stream just south of the Philadelphia Airport.

And the final ( and most amazing to me ) shot is my harvest from two tomato plants--the summer gift that just keeps giving! This is the first time in my lifetime that I have planted anything besides herbs in my garden. And what an enormous satisfaction it has been to watch little six inch plants grow into six foot vines that are abundant with tomatoes in every stage of growth.

I hate the end of summer. hate parting with the warmth of the sun on my face. It's the romance, I suppose. It's harder in the dark of winter for me to dream.

And then, of course, there is the winter preparation--outdoor furniture washed down and stored, plants brought inside before the frost leaves them limp and lifeless, last minute painting done. I hate all of that part. It isn't even remotely satisfying. Well, no, it is. But it is the other side, the reality that things change.

This year as I wrapped the patio umbrella in an old sheet and washed the wicker rocker cushions, I had this sudden feeling of satisfaction, of completing the cycle. And I stopped grumbling just for a minute to appreciate the ritual of closing things up, protecting against the inevitable winter.

I'll skip the metaphor, dear reader. I'm sure you get it.

Anyway, it's sunny here, and colorful as leaves of crimson, gold and saffron begin to surface.

Goodbye summer. What will I have learned when you roll around again?

MC