September mornings

I love those bright, cold mornings that happen in September and, at last, they've arrived. These days, I relish them even more; I appreciate so much being able to go for walks and to see the colours of the leaves on the trees as they change from summer green to autumn rust and gold and red and orange and yellow and... A few years ago, such things didn't really matter to me - I would notice a particularly spectacular show of autumn leaves, but the gradual change of the seasons didn't register at all. In the same way, the countryside made little impression on me beyond, "Oh, that's quite pretty". Now I notice things like birdong, like the light on the water, like the changing moods of the hills much more.  It's one of those, "Is this because I'm getting older and more conscious that soon I won't be here to see, hear, experience these moments?" things to some extent. More, though, I think my newly-awakened observance of the world around me is related to having had a "life threatening illness" (no, I'll never forgot my GP's words when she was told I had cancer!) Somehow, everything comes into sharp relief under those circumstances - I hope that as time passes, the focus won't slip again. There are too many amazing things to see and to do in life for them to pass in a blur.