An October Garden

Come with me, for a walk around my October garden. This day has a touch of magic, so I must be in it; I don't want to miss it. For a few minutes we can put the busyness aside(1), and step out into a world of calm and color. While we have been so occupied with the things of life, the worries, the obligations, the plans, the world of plants and creatures has been turning. It turns with the seasons. It submits in the Winter, shuts down, stands still. All is white, quiet, buried. Then the Spring, with its warmth, its hope, its energy, bursting everywhere. Youth rushes in on the wind and paints the land. Summer comes, and with her beaming smile gets our attention. She touches our skin, even through a window, and all is green and color. But there is a fourth sister, the season born between Summer and Winter. She is Autumn, mild, and mysterious. It is her time now. She has been here, I can see her footprints. She left a trail of frost this morning, and hung a chill in the air. But then she will breathe warmth that moves through the trees, the brightest sun that brings out the colors. She loves the moon, and changes just like it. Her whisper is "Get ready; get ready for change." And as she passes over the land, the trees obey her, and blaze in reds, orange, pink, and gold. The birds and insects follow her skirt of colors as it moves in the daylight; the bats follow her in the moonlight. The busy squirrels, and tiny mice see her in the garden and know that it is time to prepare for the Winter. They gather seeds and nuts, and make warm beds for the cold months. They dart up and down, in and out of the old vegetable plot where the vines have faded, and the pumpkins have been picked. "Quickly now!" they think, as they scurry(2) to their secret places with the seeds of flowers long gone. The birds watch from up high; they see the movement, the colors, the swirling, and the changing. Autumn glances(3) up at them, a shimmer in her eyes. They too know that soon, when the colors have all turned to brown, and the trees are bare, that they must say goodbye, and fly away with their friends, or be brave, and like the squirrel, make a warm, safe place for the Winter. But that time hasn't come just yet. We have the gift of walking in this golden space, this fiery light of oranges and yellows, on the ground, in the air, falling here, there. The painted leaves nod at us gently, then shudder as the wind whips up and around, and off they go from their mother tree, through the air, tumbling like a wave, scattered where we walk. I want it to always be this way, to witness this beauty that shifts its shape around me. Autumn stay. Tell the moon to hold back your sister, to slow her steps towards us. We need to walk with you longer, to bathe in your colors, and to slowly breathe your breath of change.  1. 'Busynes. It's different from business, of course. It is the state of being busy, a busy bee. a. Yoga helps me escape from the stress and busyness of work. b. The busyness of modern life can be exhausting. 2. 'Scurry' is how a mouse, squirrel, or a similar animal would run, particularly because it has four feet and nails. a. I could hear the mice scurrying on our wooden floor! b. The little lizard scurried up the wall to safety. 3. 'To glance' is a quick look at something. a. When you're driving, you only have to glance up at the rear view mirror for a second. b. I glanced at him, but he wasn't looking at me. Check out my Youtube channel A Cup Of English for new English teaching videos and podcasts made into videos to help you learn!