Why do we call it "Fall"?
Perhaps because of falling leaves and children--
Children falling into piles of scarlet and gold.

Summer herself, falling;
Falling like the glory of a ripening Rome;
Before the barbarian hordes of frost and wind.

My mother called the bruised apples that fell
Beneath the trees, "drops".
She hurried to use them before they spoiled.

"Don't slam that door; I have a cake...

HOMILY

There is a poem that I first saw on an embroidered sampler,

the sort of hand craft item that used to hang in New England

parlors. Perhaps you have it, or have seen it.

Surrounded by fancy stitches depicting flowers and garden

paths and gates, the text goes:

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
I am nearer to God in my garden
Than anywhere else on earth” ...

Sentinal tree trunks stand witness to the dawn rising over the tranquil waters of the Menasquan Reservoir. They remember when the lake was a forest and they were growing green and straight on the rise above the glen.....before the dam and the rising waters changed the landscape. They remember the birds that nested in their dense branches and the squirrels that found food and shelter there.

They remember the thrill of spring and the fragrance of fern and moss and the rare beauty of...

I woke up early this morning;
I didn't turn the lights on in the house;
Early light was enough to move about and to
re-occupy the downstairs rooms.

Perhaps that is why she didn't return to the forest.
Perhaps because the dog didn't get up with me to go out and mark her claim to the yard.
Perhaps the quality of light this March morning
Altered the rhythm of the household within.
Perhaps it was the same in the forest.

At the sink,...

2/20/2009

The snow that fell overnight was a gift.....everything is clean, white and unsullied. This morning as the sun warmed the hemlock trees their branches released, and the snow powder sifted through their needles. The wind carried it in wisps and plumes of white, like decending spirits returning home to earth.

Crows, wearing righteous black cloaks stood out against the "irreligious" snow that piled on the bare branches of the trees. They appeared to be...