I never tire of watching the landscape change in the autumn in Ontario with its abundant maple forests. Instead, I watch with greater fascination each year. How much red will there be? How vibrant will the colours be? How long will it last? When will it peak? When I lived in the city I had not realized how different each autumn was. Living in the country, surrounded by forests, it is easier to see the vast differences that occur from one year to the next. A summer of drought leads to less vibrancy in the foliage. An autumn full of rain with little sunshine also diminishes the range of colours seen in the treetops. It is not only the changes in leaves that is remarkable. There is a change in the scent of the air as the leaves begin the process of decomposition. The earthy smell sends a message of the change that is about to come and the new beginning that will eventually follow.

In our neighbourhood, the peak is often just before Canadian Thanksgiving. It’s as if the trees are giving us one more thing to be thankful for as they prepare for winter by shedding their leaves in such a momentous fashion. Imagine what our world would be like if Mother Nature had set in motion a cycle where the leaves simply shrivel and fall off the trees in the autumn. But she didn’t. She created a process that makes onlookers stop and take notice of the trees as they prepare to hibernate for the winter. A process that allows us to say goodbye to summer and transition into winter with grace and beauty. I marvel at how nature sustains itself in perfect balance … the leaves falling from the trees allow the trees to survive the winter without as much need for nutrition, while the fallen leaves rot and form compost that nourishes the trees in the surrounding area in the coming years, and centuries. Trees don’t take more than they need from the environment around them and they use everything they do take to ensure their longevity. Perhaps there is a lesson in this for us humans.

Writing Prompt:

In honour of Canadian Thanksgiving today’s writing prompt is all about giving thanks. Make a list of the things in your life you are thankful for. Choose one of them to describe in more detail … tell us a story, like mine above, that captures the importance of this topic to you. Cover the what, why, when, where and who.

1. What: Describe what it is you are thankful for. Always bring your writing or dictating to life by adding details of a sensory nature. What do you feel? What do you smell? What do you see? What do you hear? What do you taste? There is no need to include all senses in every story … just the ones that will bring this particular story to life.
2. Why: Give your reader/listener a sense of why you chose this particular subject to give thanks to or about. Dig deep to find what it is that is emotionally resonating.
3. When: Is there a particular time of year or time of your life that this story relates to? Does it happen often? Was it a once-in-a-lifetime event? Or is it an everyday happening that just makes life worth living?
4. Where: Is there a place you associate with this giving of thanks? Describe it in as much detail as you can conjure, once again using as many senses as possible in the description.
5. Who: Is there a particular person involved? Whey are they important to the story?

I look forward to hearing how you are doing as you document the various aspects of your life to share with those who are important to you.

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