The Fragility of Fall's Exuberance

Held in Fall’s Embrace, Florence Nature Preserve

This fall is bittersweet for me, as I suspect it will be the last for my mother who is in the end stages of diastolic heart failure. She loves fall and nature so much. Every time I walk in the woods, I feel the embrace of trunks and branches and marvel at how the trees step into their fully glory right before fading away. Fortunately, I returned from the Okefenokee Swamp (photos to follow) in time for peak color and I immediately went outdoors and wandered in the woods on nearby trails and on my mountain ridge. I drove my mother up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, where I found the perfect evening picnic spot, and the next day we ventured to the North Carolina Arboretum. While walking on my ridge, I played with blurs to capture the energy I felt on the cusp of changing seasons. Though I always delight in fall colors, this year I felt apprehensive that she and I were being drawn further into the cycle of life at a quicker pace than we might wish. Each moment is so precious. Though fall photos are such a common subject, there is nothing common about the gift of life we are given. The time we have to appreciate and feel gratitude for what nature shares with us is so fleeting, and watching leaves fall and be carried by capricious air currents is both mesmerizing and heartbreaking. Until we are once again united with the earth, celebrating each moment is all we can do. In appreciation of this reality, I hope you will enjoy the photos that follow.

The two photos above were taken at the Florence Nature Preserve in the Hickory Nut Gorge. The tree on the left was both stately and graceful, as it reached for the heavens.

Fall Tree Canopy with a Window to the Heavens

The photo above and the two below were taken on my mountain ridge. Given what I am experiencing right now while helping walk my mother home, my gaze is frequently directed skyward. Though my beliefs are not set in stone, as I really don’t know what happens after we die, I do believe in the immanence of spirit in nature and in higher powers that we can connect with when we live ethically and selflessly.

Burst of Fall Color on the Blue Ridge

The image above and ones in the top row in the gallery below were all made at our picnic area on the Blue Ridge. My mother kept gasping at the beauty all around us and directed me to make these images. The last two are from our visit to the North Carolina Arboretum. The stately tree is in the forest there and the second is a tree in the bonsai garden.

The images below are a few of the blurs I made. Every fall, I make images like these as the colors lend themselves to beautiful abstract compositions and it is always interesting which elements remain in focus. This year, the sense of being rapidly drawn into the changing landscape was forefront in my mind.

As we were leaving the Parkway on our way back to the assisted living place where my mother lives, we pulled off and caught the last light. It was very serene and I said a silent prayer that when my mother’s time comes she will not suffer and will fade into the night calmly and with peace.

Last Light on the Blue Ridge

As bittersweet as this fall is, I also know that there will be new dawns for me after she is gone and that I will owe it to her memory to embrace them. Perhaps I will sense her presence in the trees and flowers. I feel so much gratitude that we have been able to share an appreciation of natural beauty together, and I will never forget these moments.

Dawn with Fall Colors, My Yard