A Drizzle of Falling Leaves

This week I took my dog on a walk along a wooded trail. There was a slight breeze in the air and Live Oak leaves began to drift down all around me. It was a magical moment and I felt as if I was walking through a light drizzle, but only of leaves. Fall is coming, with hopeful change, some still time and perhaps peace and resolution and the end of a long, long year.

We live in an apartment on the edge of the Balcones Preserve. Off our porch balcony there is a gigantic multi-trunked tree that we had never seen before. After some research we learned it is a Chinese Parasol Tree, not native to Austin, but common in China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Its leaves grow a foot wide and its trunks are a soft, bamboo green. It got its name because in late summer it sprouts fragrant flowers that grow into pods, that then split into four sections and look like parasols. In the fall its leaves turn yellow and drift to the ground like giant hankies.

When we moved into our home seven years ago, we had no idea of the continuous entertainment this one unusual tree would offer us. I’d like to do a time lapse photography depicting its remarkable transformations through the seasons. A musical accompaniment would be nice as well. Its differentness is refreshing.

 We are having a change of season in America that is as big and unusual as our Parasol tree, but it is not so beautiful or healthy. It is my hope that when these leaves finally drop to the ground, there will be a period of quiet and contemplation. Silence would be a luxury in these times. And then I hope we, as a nation, can come back anew, budding into spring, eager to grow as one from our many trunks. And I hope our differentness can be cause for wonder and interest, rather than a reason to turn away in anger.