All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey...

Only, that’s not entirely true as many of the leaves falling now are also made up of varying shades of yellows, oranges, and reds. And the sky has, from time to time, been quite blue today.

So the song lyrics don’t exactly fit the current seasonal sights, is one takeaway from this I suppose, however, I went for a walk (no, not on a winter's, but autumn day) humming California Dreaming, all the same.

Soon the local authorities will send out their road sweeping machines to clear the pathways of leaves as they get wet and a bit slippery in places and the LA won’t want to risk being sued for accidents on their streets. Then those industrial vacuum cleaners will arrive to suck the leaves up from the grass beneath the trees that line these streets, and all we’ll be left with are clean walkways and empty trees. A sad sight, in some ways. I still love to scuff my feet through piles of leaves, enjoying the crunching sound it makes and kicking them up to watch them fly. Needless to say, my neighbours think I’m barmy, but I think they might be less judgmental and perhaps even a little happier if they played about in nature from time to time, too. 😉😁

Oak trees line this road and all but one is now entirely bare. The last leafy tree clings on as though to relinquish those final leaves signals the end of life for another year. The grey squirrels have been scurrying and leaping for several weeks, ensuring their winter stocks are in good shape.

I love autumn. But then it’s winter and I find I love that too. Come the spring I’ll be happy to be getting some early sowing and growing started off in the greenhouse at the allotment, and before I know it, it’s the summertime and everything is lush and beautiful once again. These trees will be bustling with new growth and life, and so the cycle goes.