There’s something about fall that casts a special spell over many of us. Perhaps we’re spellbound by the magnificent color show staged by the morphing leaves; or maybe we enjoy the cooling of the air after we’ve suffered through the record-breaking summer heat; or just possibly we’ve had one too many pumpkin spice lattes and are viewing things through caffeine- and sugar-coated glasses.
Multiple shades of orange personify fall, as captured in Mary O’Neill’s 1961 children’s book, “Hailstones and Halibut Bones” (atypical spacing and punctuation comes from the book):
“Orange is a tiger lily, A carrot, A feather from a parrot. A flame, The wildest color You can name. Orange is a happy day, Saying good-bye In a sunset that That shocks the sky. Orange is brave Orange is bold It’s bittersweet And marigold Orange is zip Orange is dash The brightest stripe In a Roman sash. Orange is an orange, Also a mango. Orange is music of the tango. Orange is the fur Of the fiery fox, It’s The brightest crayon In the box. And in the fall, When the leaves are turning, Orange is the smell Of a bonfire burning...”
What wonderful imagery that brings to mind. O’Neill is creative in observing and comparing the unique hues of orangey colors of the fall to the familiar. It’s hard for me to believe that mere colors can lead to large-scale enchantment with all things autumn. Conversely, it needs to be uttered (and more like muttered) that not everyone falls for fall. Autumn’s leaf-based fatal charms has a few resisters – and with good reason.
Depending on where you live, what kind of dwelling you inhabit, and whether you rent or own, your view of fall may be more or less quaint than that of the guy or gal next to you. For instance, if you live in an apartment complex or condo where someone else is responsible for leaf collection and removal, you have the luxury of simply sitting back and enjoying watching the leaves swirl through the air from trees to ground.
The sight is not as enjoyable if you are a homeowner who has 20 some mature maple trees surrounding her house and yard. Your enthusiasm may not be as over-the-top when fall pulls up and dumps all its leaves at your feet every October and November and this formerly glorious sight others swoon over becomes just another big fat chore on your fall to-do list. Perhaps you could outsource the raking and blowing, but that’s so price-prohibitive!
As someone whose leaf blower tends to be temperamental regarding when it feels like working, I view the fall leaves as a personal assault from which I never know if I’ll recover. So pardon me if I skip the over-priced pumpkin spice coffee and instead start saving discretionary income toward ridding myself of Freddie the Leaf and his buddies.
In addition to leaf management, fall requires other home owner dirty job-doing, including furnace tune-ups and thoroughly cleaning any fans you used during spring and summer before putting them away for the season. The change in the seasons saw me removing the AC unit from the window in the fireplace room earlier this week in anticipation of dragging the old storm windows out of my basement and fastening them into place. Not my favorite job for many reasons, chief among them the acknowledgement winter is on its way.
I also need to get the lawnmower scheduled for its annual trip to the equipment dealership for servicing. That way it will be ready and rarin’ to go should the grass blades shoot up early like they did this spring. I need to be able to hop on and mow. Speaking of mowing, the shaggy appearance of my lawn suggests I may need to do another “final” mow this weekend.
Reminder to self: put away the lawn furniture and cushions from the porch. That shouldn’t be hard, as things got too busy this year to even put out the cushions. Work and a new grandson saw to that. Guess that means I won’t be as comfortable this year watching my nemeses, the leaves, daintily fall into my gutters that need to pre-winter cleaning. Aargh!
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Kristy Smith is a contributor to the Climax Crescent. Smith’s Different Drum humor columns are archived at her blog: diffdrum.wordpress.com.
Multiple shades of orange personify fall, as captured in Mary O’Neill’s 1961 children’s book, “Hailstones and Halibut Bones” (atypical spacing and punctuation comes from the book):
“Orange is a tiger lily, A carrot, A feather from a parrot. A flame, The wildest color You can name. Orange is a happy day, Saying good-bye In a sunset that That shocks the sky. Orange is brave Orange is bold It’s bittersweet And marigold Orange is zip Orange is dash The brightest stripe In a Roman sash. Orange is an orange, Also a mango. Orange is music of the tango. Orange is the fur Of the fiery fox, It’s The brightest crayon In the box. And in the fall, When the leaves are turning, Orange is the smell Of a bonfire burning...”
What wonderful imagery that brings to mind. O’Neill is creative in observing and comparing the unique hues of orangey colors of the fall to the familiar. It’s hard for me to believe that mere colors can lead to large-scale enchantment with all things autumn. Conversely, it needs to be uttered (and more like muttered) that not everyone falls for fall. Autumn’s leaf-based fatal charms has a few resisters – and with good reason.
Depending on where you live, what kind of dwelling you inhabit, and whether you rent or own, your view of fall may be more or less quaint than that of the guy or gal next to you. For instance, if you live in an apartment complex or condo where someone else is responsible for leaf collection and removal, you have the luxury of simply sitting back and enjoying watching the leaves swirl through the air from trees to ground.
The sight is not as enjoyable if you are a homeowner who has 20 some mature maple trees surrounding her house and yard. Your enthusiasm may not be as over-the-top when fall pulls up and dumps all its leaves at your feet every October and November and this formerly glorious sight others swoon over becomes just another big fat chore on your fall to-do list. Perhaps you could outsource the raking and blowing, but that’s so price-prohibitive!
As someone whose leaf blower tends to be temperamental regarding when it feels like working, I view the fall leaves as a personal assault from which I never know if I’ll recover. So pardon me if I skip the over-priced pumpkin spice coffee and instead start saving discretionary income toward ridding myself of Freddie the Leaf and his buddies.
In addition to leaf management, fall requires other home owner dirty job-doing, including furnace tune-ups and thoroughly cleaning any fans you used during spring and summer before putting them away for the season. The change in the seasons saw me removing the AC unit from the window in the fireplace room earlier this week in anticipation of dragging the old storm windows out of my basement and fastening them into place. Not my favorite job for many reasons, chief among them the acknowledgement winter is on its way.
I also need to get the lawnmower scheduled for its annual trip to the equipment dealership for servicing. That way it will be ready and rarin’ to go should the grass blades shoot up early like they did this spring. I need to be able to hop on and mow. Speaking of mowing, the shaggy appearance of my lawn suggests I may need to do another “final” mow this weekend.
Reminder to self: put away the lawn furniture and cushions from the porch. That shouldn’t be hard, as things got too busy this year to even put out the cushions. Work and a new grandson saw to that. Guess that means I won’t be as comfortable this year watching my nemeses, the leaves, daintily fall into my gutters that need to pre-winter cleaning. Aargh!
————————
Kristy Smith is a contributor to the Climax Crescent. Smith’s Different Drum humor columns are archived at her blog: diffdrum.wordpress.com.
