Bandelier Monument
Turquoise Door
Late Night at the Pumpkin Patch~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Change of Seasons
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Running and laughing down the greenbelt trail with my dogs yesterday marked a celebration. It was the first day of fall in San Antonio. A cool front moved in finally. The rain forest mugginess of the last two weeks lifted, and it was cool and dry when I opened the garage door with Rusty and Phineas beside me at the end of their leashes. The forecast said it was going to be comfortable. Yeah, they got this one right! The chilly air sent goosebumps up my spine. Champagne weather! I felt ready to drink it all in.
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As I dodged the rocks and uneven surfaces on yesterday morning's trail, I was jarred into a sudden shift in time. I remembered jogging down a muddy Gilmore Road when I was twelve and living on my family's dairy farm in Pennsylvania. My feet felt lighter than air without my winter boots weighing me down. It was the first day of spring and our farmland was just beginning to thaw out. Mud had replaced the snow, but that wasn't going to keep me from wearing my tennis shoes. No more boots for awhile. It reminded me of all those times at the East Palestine Roller Rink when I'd take off my roller skates at the end of a fun skating session, walk out of the building into the parking lot, and have the distinct sensation that I was floating over the ground. I felt that light.
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Living in South Texas decades later, I can still appreciate the change of seasons. No matter that my longings have shifted from spring to fall. I can still celebrate the joy of liberation from oppressive weather and the ability to play or work outside without suffering like a martyr. Just like years ago, I've made it through another tough season, but this time it's not a long, cold winter; this time it's a long, hot summer. So bring on the pumpkins, the falling leaves, the chill in the air. I'm ready! I'm going to give thanks for the change in seasons.
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To celebrate the seasons, I included an earlier fall painting entitled Late Night at the Pumpkin Patch. I also included two recent works from a past trip to New Mexico. Turquoise Door is a scene from Canyon Road in Santa Fe, and Bandelier Monument revisits my love of that natural shrine in the setting of one of our nation's national park treasures near Santa Fe.
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Happy Autumn Days!!!
~~Cindy
