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Color Draws
Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: October - 2022
Fall on the Plateau is a wild, sensual overload, with nature setting the stage for a spectacular Finale.
Fall is a fleeting season. Its resplendent peak is punctuated by strong gusts and hard rains – and then bareness for at least four months. But during those few fallish weeks, when harvest colors abound, I find myself drawn to windows, car drives, bike paths, and hiking trails. To take in October in Western North Carolina is to be saturated soul-deep in the glow of rich hues. Light streaming through paper thin shapes. Breezes fluttering transparent oranges, reds, and yellows into layers and heaps. There is beauty in this rapidly changing season. Nature could have kept the leaves the same year-round: reliable, yet tedious imagery month after month, year after year. All deciduous trees could have been made to skip color altogether and slough dead brown leaves only. Yet, fall is fortunately an episode of grandeur the likes of which no human can truly capture (sorry, artist friends). Leafers come in droves to witness the glorious show. Literally millions pack Western North Carolina highways and byways to see leaves dying. Essentially leaves fast; they stop their food-making process. Interior chlorophyll breaks down and green disappears, leaving behind – only momentarily, and depending on species – brilliant yellows, vivid reds, and honeyed oranges. Weeks spent in Montana this past summer resulted in a renewed appreciation for the Plateau’s prettiness. Many Western states, though vast and open-skied, sport primarily conifer trees. Autumn color is spotty due to small groves of aspens or a variety of wild bushes. Missing are the leaf-dense hardwoods of this area. Change and death typically do not cause one to sigh, mouth agape, and whisper awe-struck utterances. But some change does us good. And like the crescendo of an orchestra, the painterly palette of hillsides and mountains and forests ready us for shorter days ahead. We are soul-filled and strengthened with such wonder that we can patiently endure bleak, chilled days and anticipate glorious renewal, restoration, and growth. The season of light, of white and pastel florals, awaits us on the other end of winter’s austerity. Trees break forth their life and distinctiveness, and we yearn at summer’s wane for the beautiful holy change of fall once again.
