The Season For The Senses

​Fall is my favorite season. 

Tending to the final details in preparation for this weekend’s canoeing/climbing excursion, I find myself trying to figure out what I enjoy most about this time of year.

Part of the excitement is the anticipation of a scenic drive through northern Wisconsin.  The further north we drive, the closer we will get to peak color.  However, my love of fall goes far deeper than scenic drives, a trip to the apple orchard, and cooler weather.

Fall overwhelms my senses as each one is stimulated simultaneously. 

The colors of fall are beginning to pop up around our area.  The color contrast is striking when the yellows, oranges and reds of the leaves are set against the green grass and blue sky.  The colors are further enhanced thanks to the lower angle of the afternoon sun. 

Fall’s approach is announced with the sound of crunching leaves beneath my feet, chatter of the chipmunks and squirrels preparing for the winter, and the sound of geese heading south overhead.

The smoke from backyard campfires wafts throughout the neighborhood. The earthy smell of the fallen leaves during a stroll in the woods sends chills down my spine. 

I am tantalized by the feeling of cool breezes brushing against my skin.  Inhaling the crisp autumn air, my thoughts turn to reflection and contemplation.

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Nature’s Rhythm

A few weeks ago, it appeared as if fall had arrived.  This recent heat wave was like summer’s last hurrah.

We experience a wide range of weather patterns in Wisconsin, many times in the same week and sometimes even the same day!  It is this variability in the weather and the change of seasons that I enjoy. 

This period of transition triggers a feeling of excitement for the one ahead and a sense of closure on the one we are leaving behind.

That said, fall is still my favorite time to be in trees. 

I spend time reflecting upon the experiences of the past year.  I am tuned into Nature’s rhythm, which puts me at peace.  I feel a spike in my creative energy as I look towards the future and begin identifying ways to enhance my life energy in the coming year. 

Falling Leaves & Climbing Trees

Getting my feet off the ground and the freedom of being on rope heighten my sensory perception.  Simple pleasures I enjoy on the ground are enhanced while climbing trees.  Come fall, they turn into bursts of energy felt throughout my body.

Laying on a branch in a sugar maple allows you to bask in the tree’s red-orange-yellow aura.  Sitting within the pool of light emitted by the surrounding leafy mosaic, it is easy to get a sense of why John Muir referred to trees and forests as Nature’s temples and cathedrals.

Your view is obscured when a tree is in leaf.  The foliage acts as walls between the rooms and levels of your climbing tree and those of neighboring trees.  As the balance of leaves covering the ground increases from those remaining on branches, your depth of visibility increases to reveal the structural beauty of scaffold limbs.

The sound of crinkling leaves carries across the distances, enabling you to envision the playful nature of squirrels even if they are out of sight.  If you sit long enough, the leaves may signal the approach of deer.  It is a neat experience to sit above and watch grazing deer meander by without being alerted of your presence.

Despite the lower temperatures, the physical nature of climbing warms your body.  Even a slight hint of perspiration is enough to energize you when a cool breeze passes by.

Once the leaves have fallen, you are able to enjoy shades of brown, gray, and black.  You can focus your attention on the details and variety of leaf shapes strewn about below.  The ground provides a canvas as the shadows cast by the trunks and branches convert the three-dimensional world into a dynamic line-drawing. 
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Enjoying this abstract art work of shadows and leaves, you’ll eventually find your silhouette projected on the ground. 

​The realization of looking down upon myself is a type of out-of-body experience that brings me back into the present moment and my sensory system back into check.

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