The beautiful fall colors haven’t fully made their way here to Georgia yet, but there’s no mistaking the change of seasons. I’m not really crazy about the dark of night coming earlier and earlier in the day, but the brisk, cool weather is a welcome respite after the heat and humidity of summer.

These are changes we expected, of course. But there have been a few surprises for us in our new home as summer turned to fall. One is the sparkle on the water in the morning on the lake we can see from the back of our house. I’ve always enjoyed the hypnotic effect of the glistening water on a sunny day, but in just the past few days, it has become so intense at a certain time of the morning that looking out at a section of the lake is like staring directly into the sun.

We anticipated that the first year in our new house, especially living in a part of the country that’s totally new to us, would include some interesting discoveries with the coming of each new season. It has so far, and I’m especially looking forward to all the surprises that autumn, my favorite season, still has in store for us – even though that includes watching out for all the bugs and critters looking for a warmer place to stay during the winter. Spiders and scorpions are pretty popular here, as well as snakes and squirrels. And even though I don’t enjoy running into them, I’m getting used to them being around – although I still don’t want them in my house.

I’m actually looking forward to winter, too, which will be much milder than what we’re used to after spending most of our lives in Minnesota and northern Illinois. Here, we don’t feel that sense of dread and foreboding that used to start nagging at us around this time of year in anticipation of snow, ice, frigid wind chills, and below-zero weather.

“Each season has its own beauty,” a realtor told us long ago, when my husband and I were making our first move away from the Chicago area where both of us grew up. He was right, of course, and I’m sure he could have said the same about any area of the country. I’m remembering his words now as we greet each new season in our new home, and discover the beauty that’s everywhere, even if most of us take it for granted.

Take a moment now, wherever you are, to glance outside and enjoy the beauty of whatever you see. Whether it’s an interesting new view, or something you see every year at this time, make a point of appreciating the beauty that is all around us if we only take the time to notice it.

October 20, 2017
©Betty Liedtke, 2017

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