Autumn (in this part of the world, anyway)

Here we are again in the autumn. As a Brit living in Australia, I still can't get my head around the reversed seasons. Here I am in May, and my body and mind are telling me that Christmas is coming as the days shorten and I get up in the dark. Lots of the trees keep their leaves, so it doesn't even feel like autumn to me.

The colours on this page reminded me of the autumns I'm used to, as the greens fade into yellows, oranges, reds, and rich browns. It set me thinking about what happens to a tree in autumn. All the old, unnecessary things are discarded. Resources are pulled in and centralised, waiting for a new season of growth.

In these days of rain, darkness, and sitting at home cosy and warm, I look forward to the new season of growth as the old is put away, the unfruitful is cut off, and I prepare for a new start, whatever it might be...