It dawned clear skied and still for the

first time in days in this middle of

October. Too, too often the trees tease

with changing colors starting muted

and a bit dull and then brighter and

brighter, sharper with well-defined

reds and yellows and purples, and

then in Michigan along the shore

of the Big Lake, the clouds come in

stealthily at night to cloud the day

followed by rain and winds out of the

west — strong, harsh winds that rip

at the trees and tear the leaves off of

the branches tossing them to the

ground seemingly without any res-

pect and indifferent to the sultry

dance of the leaves like fan dancers

slowly revealing the beauty beneath.

But today and maybe only this

day (There are no promises of Indian

Summer in these parts.), the leaves

hold tight and shine bright by the pond

and the waterfall. He almost didn’t see

the Cardinal couple sitting on a branch.