On an early October afternoon I pulled in to a parking spot in Reebs Bay, Wainfleet. The beach boardwalk here leads through a small copse of trees, onto a beach and the Lake Erie shore.
The horizontal planks provide a floor for the arched trees, leading the eye toward the blue. Green leaves blend in easily and naturally with the brown dessicated leaves of Autumn, which in turn blend naturally with the wood of the boardwalk. As a youth I would not have noticed this boardwalk as I ran along it to throw myself into the water. Energy is the domain of youth. As my eyes have accumulated the years, they see differently.
In this image I see a cornucopian mix of complex blended patterns. Nature and mankind. Spring and Summer, Fall and Winter. Earth, Air, Water. The present is green. The past is brown. The future is an empty blue, unknown and unknowable.
I have nostalgia for the year in progress, as well as those long past, as my thoughts touch on people we have lost. The brown leaves make me acutely aware of futures yet to come.
These deep thoughts ease with every step along the boardwalk. As the vista unfolds and I emerge into the warm light of day to feel the breeze on my face, the warmth of the Autumn sun, and the expanse of bright blue open sky above. The sound of the waves calms me. Replaces my nostalgia. I am again tinged and transfused with hope. There is always hope. That. That will be my takeaway from this scene.
One can have a lot of thoughts during a short walk. Optimism is a choice, dear readers. Onward.
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