that time of year when
yellow leaves, none, or few, hang
shake against the cold
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin’d choirs where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west;
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see’st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consum’d with that which it was nourish’d by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare.
If you traveled the length and width of Beaufort County, South Carolina you might be hard pressed to find more fall color then is this little patch of trees near where I live.
Beaufort County is 40 miles long and 10 miles deep and covers the coast of South Carolina from Savannah to Charleston.
At high tide, 50% of Beaufort County is underwater.
The salt is in everything and there is not a lot of color you can get out of salt.
Growing up in Michigan, the local forests are a poor player for fall color.
Having lived in Atlanta for years, the local forests are just as lacking for spring color.
The simple pond in the picture has the very real chance to be home to both alligators and water mocassians but it sits in the middle of housing development surrounded by an lawn that invites you to bring a picnic lunch and sit and enjoy your surroundings.
If you do that and aren’t bother by the alligators or snakes, either the fire ants or the sand gnats will eat you alive.
So why do I live in this salt marsh swamp?
That one line there captured by Big Bill.
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold.
Its the end of November.
It is forecast to be in the low 80’s and we are off to the beach.
Now my favorite fall colors are the numberless shades of blue in the sky and in the water of the Atlantic Ocean.
In me thou see’st the twilight of such day
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
No Haiku For You 