Roadside color, 2014 Fall Ride
Michigan’s lush, green forests and woods and stands of hardwoods and evergreens turn to oranges, rusts, reds and yellows in autumn. Then the hardwoods drop their leaves to be raked and bagged, piled or burned by homeowners tidying up for winter.
In late October or early November, my wife, Cindy and I would take an all-day, autumn color drive that we simply called our “Fall Ride.” What started out as just the two of us later included our children when they were little. When the kids got older and lost interest, we invited a couple friends to join our annual ride. More recently, our group morphed to Cindy and I and her mom and sister, Norma and Judy.
Camera ready, we stopped often to snap pictures of the radiant foliage or pause driving to stroll in a park or pumpkin patch. Many years, we perused roadside stands for pumpkins, corn stalks, gourds and even hay bails to decorate our porches. Whenever we noticed traces of smoke along the way, evidence of leaf-burning going on, Cindy insisted we crack the car windows to sniff the aroma.
As another Michigan autumn wanes, I think often of Cindy who died 18 months ago. We loved to rake leaves together in our yard. She was better than me running a leaf blower, even prided herself to clamber up to our roof to blow the leaves piled there onto the ground.
I tried a couple fall rides since she passed but they are not the same without her. However, when I notice a trace of smoke as I’m driving along, evidence of leaf burning going on, I hear her plea in my mind to crack the car window to sniff the aroma.
And as I do, I longingly remember her.
“You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride;
You have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes.”
2015 Fall Riders: Cindy, Norma, Judy (and me, the picture taker)
Notes:
The post banner photo is Cindy and mom, Norma raking and burning leaves in Norma’s yard in October, 2009. (Again, I was there as well, a helper and picture taker!)