Two weeks in Autumn

Written by Kirsten Schnackenberg
Thursday, 08 October 2009 00:00

There is a certain time in New England when the leaves on the trees are at their most brilliant, a time that serves as fleeting yet sublime reminder from mother nature that fall is most definitely here. For only about two weeks or so, the spectrum of colors, from rustic robin red to burnt sun yellow to glowing pumpkin orange dazzles the eye and promises to amaze visitors to our small corner of the eastern seaboard. But come just one day too early and the leaves will still be the green of summer and early fall. Come one day too late, and you will be greeted by a dusty, faded brown carpet of dried leaves just waiting to be jumped in.

There are visitors who come to New England during this time for the sole purpose of seeing the leaves. To many of us year-round residents, however, such a pilgrimage seems a bit strange. After all, many New Englanders, including myself, have grown up with the changing of the leaves and regard it as a natural and expected event.

However, all that a native New Englander has to do to put the uniqueness of our brilliant falls into perspective is visit places like Southern California or Florida during the autumn months. Gone are the colorful leaves, the brisk chill of a fall morning, and the sound of rakes sweeping up the fallen leaves in driveways. In their place are endless sunshine, dry, hot air, swaying palm trees, and a temperature that rarely dips below 75 degrees. No matter what date the calendar displays, the balmy weather and green leaves remain.

Though there are obvious benefits to this sort of climate, I can’t help but be partial to the temperate seasons we experience here in Connecticut. Because of them, something other than the date on my calendar reminds me that it is no longer summer, that it’s time to put away the bathing suits and beach umbrellas and once again bring out the fall jackets, winter coats, scarves and mittens. What would holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving or New Years’ be like at 80 degrees? Holidays such as these, as well as other personal events that occur in the fall take part of their identity from the season itself. To me, Halloween means “bring a sweater it might get chilly”, and Thanksgiving means spectators bundled up in coats lining the streets of New York City for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Perhaps the most important reason I love fall and regard it so highly is the sense of continual progress and motion it conveys. Fall gives a sense of accomplishment and serves as a marker of time passed. In other climates where the weather is the same year round, time can often blend into one extensive period. However, the changing of the seasons forces us, here in New England, to make transitions. They may be simply the different clothes stored in our closets, but often a change in season allows us to alter our mindsets as well.

The onset of fall means preparation for the year ahead, and the start of a new school year. Winter invokes a sense of celebration, spring gives us new hope and the promise of a new beginning, and summer allows us to let out our carefree side. The seasons remind us that life is not one long, extended and un-changing event, but rather a journey full of constant changes.

Kirsten Schnackenberg of Greenwich is a junior at Greenwich Academy.