Everywhere I walk in the forest, the beauty of my surroundings speaks to me. Sometimes it’s a simple thing, such as a wildflower or a leaf, other times it’s the sheer majesty of the view on a mountaintop.
Much of the lush scenery we enjoy in the summer is now absent, and the leaves are finding their new homes on the forest floor. Soon they will nourish the trees from which they came.
Yesterday it rained steadily all day. But it was the wind that finally brought down the oak leaves. They are even more stubborn about falling than the beech leaves! When it rains hard, the greenway floods and gets muddy, so you have to step carefully. But…the mud left us a gift! Looking down, I spotted a lovely pattern of oak leaf remains from the storm. The leaves, once coated with mud, stuck to the pavement. But when the sunshine dried them out, and the wind blew them away, they left lovely patterns of their brief stay on the muddy path! A group of smaller leaves on another walk left a similar silhouette.
Later, on a different walk, the wire fencing on either side of the path acts like a wind tunnel. A gust of wind swept in from behind me and the fallen leaves rolled and swirled down the path like horses in the Kentucky Derby!
As an artist, I look at the world through the prism of design, which is so abundant in the Lord’s creation. I stopped to inspect these leaf prints. Not only was I fascinated with how they arranged themselves in a swirling design, but also how tiny twigs and seeds collected along the crack in the pavement, making it look like a snake.
On this same walk, there is a bench at the top of a hill overlooking the skyline of tree silhouettes. I enjoyed watching the leaves fall from the surrounding trees. Most were oak leaves. Each one had a different path and trajectory as it left its home high in the canopy. One took almost a straight nosedive onto the grass, its stem weighing it down, determining the journey. Others seemed to delight in swishing back and forth, gently falling in slow motion. Some were spinners and others seemed to tumble and float and tumble again. Who knew such a pleasant occupation awaited me on that walk? I confess, I want to go back and watch more leaves as they make their way down to their new home.
There is another tree which I love, especially in the fall. The larch. It looks like an evergreen in summer, but it loses its “leaves” in the fall. Only it loses what look like six-inch stems of needles. It too creates a lovely pattern on the walkway and a pleasant fragrance when crushed underfoot.
The Lord says in scripture that this world is only a “shadow” of things to come. Wow! Ponder that as you spend time with Him.
“These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Colossians 2:17 ESV
