Enjoying Autumn Yet?

Whoever Stole Autumn, Please Bring it Back!

I headed north last week through the back roads, woods and hills of rural Missouri in search of what appears to be an elusive fall foliage display. Folks up there are surprised to see only about a third of the trees offering any hint of fall — much less bursts of golden and crimson autumn colors.

Some friends drove up to Wisconsin specifically to take in the array of fall colors and reported less than the bounty they had hoped for. In North Texas, I think some folks may be spray-painting their trees just to remind us of what late October used to look like.

But, check out these temperatures, if your A/C bill already hasn’t gotten your attention. How could the trees possibly know it’s time to change with temps in the mid-to-upper 80s now well into an extended Indian Summer?

Thanks, Jackson Browne.

I did sneak up to Colorado for a couple of days a few weeks ago and drove up to Cheyenne, Wyoming for one of Jackson Browne’s last stops on his solo acoustic tour in the intimate theater venue of the Cheyenne Civic Center. From fourth row center,  I can report that  Jackson’s voice is better than ever, with a laid-back style that made the whole evening a treat. He still can hit all the original notes across the wide spectrum of his songbook. About three numbers into his 90-minute show, he said, “I’m getting a little tired of this set-list, so what do you want to hear?”

He might as well have wrapped up the entire evening with a big bow and given it to me as an early Christmas present.

And, on the drive back to Denver the next day, I intentionally got off I-25 and onto some back roads in search of fall colors — and I wasn’t at all disappointed. I think the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins won the prize.

So, I’ve had a brief taste of autumn, which only makes me long for it to make it to Texas eventually.