Autumn- Emulating Dillard

Every autumn we revel in the beauty of the fall colors. The mixture of candy apple reds, eggplant purples, oranges varying from burnt to blooming, and vibrant yellows are a result of chemical processes that take place in a tree as the seasons change from summer to winter. Powerful green chlorophyll’s are hard at work developing themselves in the tree’s leaves during spring and summer months producing as much food as possible with the sunlight they have, but when fall and winter come they quit due to the air’s temperature shift. With a job well done by the chlorophyll, the leaves serve no purpose for the trees anymore and are shed from their place, blanketing our fading lawns with a crunchy, crispy, and colorful topping.

My mom, a born-nature lover, is a huge fan of the beautiful autumn season. It was obvious by the décor she littered around our house during these months as I grew up. You could find fake leafy arrangements, pumpkin sculptures made of Styrofoam, and dancing Halloween figurines in every corner of our home. I can still hear her shrieks of excitement when the leaves of our big brown oak which covered our whole front yard in a shadow, hinted any sign of color-change. As soon as the giant oak showered enough leaves, she was the first outside with a rake scraping them into massive a pile in the center of our yard. Knowing this only meant one thing; my sisters and I suited up for an evening of fun.

“KOW-A-BUNGAHHHH” We shrieked with excitement as we leapt off our front steps into the huge pile of nature. We rifled through the pile, grabbing massive clumps, sending them through the air at one another. We dove, jumped, slid, and hurdled through it until all the leaves took their places, back to being scattered in every corner of our yard. My mom never once complained or scolded us for doing so. In fact, every time she would re-rake them into a huge pile knowing it would serve as our playground for the following day. She watched us play from the porch with a smile.

I’ve asked her since then why she never made us rake the yard ourselves, as I would have been annoyed if I were her. She always smiles back at me with the same smile she wore as she watched as play and responds with some quirky comment about the beauty of nature.

 Ohio University is a school known for its beauty. Our rolling hills, brick roads, and luscious state parks were and an important part of why I became a student here, and I have often find myself shrieking with excitement at the beautiful sites I’ve found on our campus. As I dig out my scarves, sweaters, and leathery boots my anxiousness for fall beauty is unbearable. I find myself craving a giant leaf pile to hide from my midterm exams in, and I find that there is only one person I can blame my love for this nature on.

 

 (As I read through Annie Dillard's Essay, Seeing, I picked up on her ability to provide observation into her essay. She describes her "sights" in nature, and has a slight scientific like "rant" tone in her voice. I tried to capture these elements through my piece.)