It is time

The equinox came and suddenly the trees have started changing colour in earnest. The temperatures have gone up for a few days - I'm wearing sandals again, but the leaves are starting to drop.

Fallen Leaf

Fallen Leaf, originally uploaded by susanvg.

There is something melancholy about autumn. While the trees put on a colourful show, they slowly lose these leaves. Autumn is also about loss. This single leaf lies on the ground, riddled with holes - was it food for a parasite?

I suddenly thought of the Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan - in the glory of youth. Some make it home riddled by bullets or shrapnel or by the invisible wounds of post traumatic stress. While this leaf will never see its former glory, the tree it came from will rest over the winter and then once again grow foliage and shade the forest. The men come home needing that long winter rest, to heal and to learn to live again. We are only slowly recognizing the need for time and even that does not heal all wounds

Day 111: Cuttings

Day 111: Clippings, originally uploaded by susanvg.

A plant is sometimes so much more than a plant. It holds a history, has a past. My mother loved plants. This leaf has a direct line to her and to my past. As her dieffenbachia got leggy, she would chop the stem and re-root the pieces to create new plants. All her family and friends had cuttings from her plants.

I continue her example, nurturing plants, making cuttings when I can and sharing with friends and family. We pass on genes, but we pass on family and friendship in so many other ways.