Listening to the Sounds of Autumn (Fall)

One of the great joys of this season is the visual appeal of bright colors - red, yellow, orange - as the leaves change colors and then fall.  The English word "Fall" for this season refer to the falling leaves.  And what a beautiful, joyous vision it is!

So why do I talk about the "sounds" of fall?  Well, in my house, more is falling than just leaves.  Did I mention that I live surrounded by 19 oak trees.  Oaks produce acorns!  Every time we have a wind storm, that wind detaches a lot of acorns, which are thrown against my roof with force, producing quite a clatter and barrage of "bang, bang, bang, bang."

I laugh about the clamor with my neighbors. And I admit that raking and sweeping all the acorns from the driveway every morning isn't the most fun form of exercise I can imagine.  Yet when I allow myself to stop being annoyed about the acorns, I see so much beauty in the "music" of those acorns falling on my roof all day and all night.

And the best part of it all?  When I go out to sweep and rake every morning, right after I meditate and practice Reiki for 40-60 minutes, I enjoy the cool air, the diffuse light of right-after-dawn, and the quiet stillness in which deer come to feed on the acorns.  They remind me of the joys that that fall music brings me.... and I remember to pile up the acorns where the does and fawns can find them, instead of removing all of them.

What sounds of fall do you hear where you live?  Do you take early-morning walks and watch the earth change its colors and sing new songs to you?