Brisk temperatures at dawn and dusk herald incipient early Autumn
Brisk temperatures at dawn and dusk herald incipient early Autumn...
here within southeastern
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,
encompassing quite a geographic swath
bordering Philadelphia County
to the southeast, including areas like Lower Merion,
Cheltenham, and Abington townships,
forming the southeastern boundary
of Montgomery County
within the larger Delaware Valley region,
plus this area characterized by integration
into the Philadelphia metropolitan area,
with significant towns and communities
that are well-connected to the city
by its transit and road networks.
Suburban sprawl punctuated
courtesy vinyl city,
which list of contractors
each left their respective
swiftly tailored, harried style signature,
yet none of these tract housing domiciles
can't hold a candle
to the original oldest buildings
or those individually built
with formal gardens and a manse size property,
whereby each majestic residence
possessed that je nais se qua
unique characteristic and personality
one mansion in particular special to me
originally named Glen Elm
and then encompassing
about The Hundred Acre Wood
constituted the house at Pooh's corner,
(which included about a half dozen acres),
I spent the majority of my growing up years
(actually initially constructed
as a summer getaway
for the Leiper's approximately,
(not to be redundant nor repetitive)
circa 1910 long since razed
from the roof possibly fifteen years ago,
now occupied with McMansions
that appeared to sprout along Stella's Way
a paved road formerly the gravel driveway
coming to a dead-end where the abode once stood
housing the Harris family,
who moved there February 28th, 1968.
Stimmler, one of the countless
home heating oil delivery company
resumed making their rounds
and topped off the furnace
when cold air seeped
throughout the domain
once a majestic place away from the city
surrounded with ample trees
that initially and imperceptibly
segued into a colorful picture of nature
for an artist or photographer
as the temperature
dipped below the comfort zone,
and father bolstered the wood pile,
that amassed into quite a sizable stack
(according to my humble opinion)
when summertime blues
(referring to the negative emotions,
like sadness, depression, and irritability,
that some people experience
during the summer months,
often linked to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD),
nevertheless nature presented
a splash of the three
most common fall leaf colors
being red, yellow, and orange,
which colors revealed
as the leaves break down
their green chlorophyll,
unmasking pre-existing carotenoid pigments
(yellow, orange, and brown)
and, in some species,
forming new anthocyanin pigments
(red, purple, or blue)
exhibiting change because decreasing daylight hours
and cooler temperatures
signal trees to stop producing chlorophyll,
the green pigment that masks other colors,
which process of leaves changing color
in the fall called senescence,
a natural cycle triggered
by shorter days and cooler temperatures
signaling deciduous trees
as iterated to stop producing green chlorophyll
and reabsorb nutrients from their leaves
for winter dormancy,
and once the green pigment fades,
other colors—from yellow and orange
to vibrant reds and purples—become visible.
Even as a skeptic yours truly experiences
an unbridled ecstasy
at the silent scenic explosion of grandeur
and prone to ejaculate
"oh...how resplendently
and heavenly divine
to be a sensate being
extolling barenaked lady of Mother Nature
to witness to such beauty!"
Copyright ©
Matthew Harris
|