The Beauty of Autumn

The Beauty of Autumn is inspiring and uplifting to the soul. As William Cullen Bryant said, "Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile."

I have enjoyed very much being outside during this time of year. Here are some photos I've taken, as well as a nice collection of thoughts on this beautiful time of year:

Photos by Ken R. Young

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, Fluttering from the autumn tree. - Emily Bronte

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. - George Eliot

There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October. - Nathaniel Hawthorne

If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It’s a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it’s time to reflect on what’s come before. - Mitchell Burgess

There is a harmony in autumn, and a lustre in its sky,
Which through the summer is not heard or seen.
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air. - Nathaniel Hawthorne

A few days ago I walked along the edge of the lake and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air. - Eric Sloane

Then summer fades and passes and October comes. We’ll smell smoke then, and feel an unexpected sharpness, a thrill of nervousness, swift elation, a sense of sadness and departure. - Thomas Wolfe

The leaves in autumn do not change color from the blighting touch of frost, but from the process of natural decay. They fall when the fruit is ripened, and their work is done. And their splendid coloring is but their graceful and beautiful surrender of life when they have finished their summer offering of service to God and man. And one of the great lessons the fall of the leaf teaches, is this: Do your work well, and then be ready to depart when God shall call. - Tryon Edwards

Who at this season does not feel impressed with a sentiment of melancholy? - A. Alison

Autumn is the eternal corrective. It is ripeness and color and a time of maturity; but it is also breadth, and depth, and distance. What man can stand with autumn on a hilltop and fail to see the span of his world and the meaning of the rolling hills that reach to the far horizon? - Hal Borland

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. - John Muir

I love fall!

Fall is exciting.

It’s apples and cider.

It’s an airborne spider.

It’s pumpkins in bins.

It’s burrs on dog’s chins.

It’s wind blowing leaves.

It’s chilly red knees.

It’s nuts on the ground.

It’s a crisp dry sound.

It’s green leaves turning

And the smell of them burning.

It’s clouds in the sky.

It’s fall. That’s why…
I love fall.

- Unknown

In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter, morning and evening — no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air. - Alexander Smith

Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn. - Elizabeth Lawrence

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus

For more scenes of beauty, see:

The Beauty of Winter