I missed last winter.
I should clarify. I didn't yearn, ache, or fill up with sorrow. I skipped it. On purpose. I left Iowa mid October 2009 when the temps were dipping into the 30's and 40's at night, 40's during the day. A tad early for my liking, and actually it was below normal for that time of the year. But that's nature for you....always keeping you on your toes...keeping you guessing...like that teacher (we all know) who taps a ruler in the palm of their hand as they pace through the rows of test taking students.
Anyway, I had weathered two winters in Iowa, 2007 and 2008. Two of the coldest winters in the last 25 years for Fairfield. This was after spending a majority of my life – my entire adult life, come to think of it – in the balmy arms of the state of Florida. I don't rue my decision. On the contrary, I have never made a better one. But those two winters were enough...it was time to move back to warm winters. So, it was a conscious decision to miss - forgo, skip, forfeit, abandon - the northern hemisphere winter in 2009/2010.
Little did I know that I was going to go on the adventure of my life. I was thinking of wintering in California or Florida, but after meeting Yasmin (in Fairfield, Iowa), Australia became the destination of choice. Off I went to summer in the southern hemisphere....it was a mild summer by Melbourne standards...the temperatures didn't spike too high for too long, and the rains came and eased the minds of many who had experienced the bush fires of February 2009....March produced some of the most beautiful days...a balance of warmth and coolness...April and May saw me traveling throughout the USA...the west, mid-west, and south...and then a return to Australia, and my first Oz autumn...and oh what an autumn it was...I say “was” because June 1st is the start of winter in Oz....but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
It was the last day of autumn as I rode my bike down the Merri Creek Trail. I spied the subtle changes of the seasons in the air, the trees, the sun, and my fellow trail goers. It was the trees that caught my attention...many were losing their leaves, while others hung bravely onto their evergreen coats. Unlike the autumn of Iowa which BURSTS into fall, Melbourne seems to be strolling down a leaf littered path. The color change in Iowa is spectacular, and nearly every tree joins in. Here the cedar, pines, and gum (eucalyptus) trees have stubbornly clung to their leaves...but it is the willow trees that have caught my eye as they are turning from green to yellow gold and ocher.
Ah, the willow tree...according to Yasmin, my mentor on all things Australian, the willow is not native to Oz, and Victoria is working to eradicate these trees that line the waterways...on this day the willows are putting on such show I cannot ignore them....they litter the banks with their leaves, and tower over the reach of the creek itself...some dip down into the water, obliterating the line of demarcation between tree and creek...unlike summer, when the willow bends itself seemingly wanting to paint the creek water with its foliage, autumn leaves use the water as its path to leaf afterlife...a slow moving procession complete with dirges being sung by the magpies...
My thinking segues to other changes that autumn brings....temperatures have mellowed out...Australian Rules Football replaces Cricket...fleece is worn in place of tank tops...the sun sinks lower in the Northern sky and the days' light continues to shorten. It is the natural course of creation, maintenance, and dissolution. This is how we pass through our lives...whether or not we recognize this circular motion, it is how nature moves, how the world moves, how we move.
I sometimes try to see this cyclical path in different and non-obvious aspects of my life...taking notice of this natural movement has, in a way, helped me relax...I have an easier time accepting the dips and drops my life takes, in fact, understanding that this is a natural movement, something that is real in every aspect of life, is comforting...I don't waste time wondering - “what if,” “if only”, “woe is me”...I try and learn what I can from the experience and move on...learn and grow. So once again I am reminded of my connection to nature...to its cycles, its movements...that my growth, my path in life, follows this pattern.
Pondering all of this in a positive way, my link to nature is reinstated. I pedal home.
