Change can be beautiful – Autumn in the Woods
There have been a few signs that Autumn was coming in and around the woods over the last few weeks. This afternoon, as the breeze blew through the trees and the leaves began to fall, we ventured out into the woods to take it all in…
The woodland floor is gradually beginning to show some colour; the bracken gradually changing from green to brown and leaves that have fallen to the ground, now crunch under foot. As we passed a pile of leaves near a timber stack we noticed a couple of toads sitting under a log.
The thistles have turned from fabulous pink/purple buds, into fluffy, cotton-like seeds, that blow around on the wind. The leaves that remain on the trees are turning from their vibrant green, from yellow, to orange and finally brown, at which point they flutter to the woodland floor.
While we were looking at a lone white feather (‘Angel Feathers’ to my daughter) we heard a rustle and noticed a slow worm basking in shard of light on the ground… it played dead when we spotted it, but soon slithered off into the leaves and through what is left of Spring’s bluebells.
Bluebells that once had bright green stems and a soft fragrance and swinging bells, now are pale grey and lace like, no seeds are left inside the seed pods, as they have all been released and sprinkled on the ground.
As our walk came to an end, the scent of blackberries lingered on the now damp air after a light rain fall; we picked and sampled a few as we walked home.
Autumn is my favourite season, however, it is also a time of change which often unsettles me. Autumn, signals the end of long Summer days and school Summer holidays, but, as we noticed today, change can be… and IS beautiful, as this is also the season full of new beginnings.
The start of a new, exciting school year, seeds bedding into the ground and wildlife enjoying cooler, damper days. There are glorious, crisp Autumnal days, big, warm knitwear, open fires, sloe gin, fruit pies… there is so much on it’s way!
So, as we head into Autumn, I am choosing to be grateful for the changes ahead and embrace what this new season has to offer.
