Autumn In The Air On The Lazy Russian River

This lazy river is slow and silent like the seasonal shift that has just begun. The signs of autumn are subtle at first, there’s a slight but noticeable difference in the angle and the quality of light which begins to take on a golden glow. The wind is different too in the way it blows and the direction it comes from. The leaves on some trees are beginning to turn yellow and become brittle as they dry out, giving more of a voice to the early autumn breeze. The golden leaves and the golden light combine to bathe everything in honey. Summer almost seems to have passed us by, this has been one of the coolest ones in years.

I love autumn so much, it’s a time to pause and to breathe. Memories of summer gradually give way to the promise of a new season with cold mornings, cooler days, crisp blue skies, and the swirl of leaves in the wind as they corkscrew and flutter helter skelter to the ground. The big show here in Sonoma County happens when the vineyards turn into a vibrating riot of yellows, reds and oranges. It’s not exactly New England or the aspens in Colorado but nonetheless breathtaking in its own right.

Birds are one of my passions, they too are tried and true indicators of the transition from summer to autumn. The mysteries of bird migration just amaze me. Our yard has been visited  by dark headed grosbeaks, western tanagers, the brilliantly colored hooded oriole and the diminutive lemon drops that are Wilson’s warblers. All of these summer visitors will soon be gone, making way for the arrival of winter birds. It’s an ebb and flow as old as time.

Sitting here at this favorite secluded spot of  mine on the banks of the Russian River, it’s as quiet as a dream. A smattering of leaves and bits of fluff from the surrounding forest float languidly past me. The river is a mirror broken only occasionally when a breeze ripples across its surface. This ecosystem is vibrant and bursting with life! Herons, egrets, kingfishers and osprey abound. Every few minutes the silence is broken by a splash and a flash of silver as one of the countless numbers of fish breaks the surface in search of a snack. Today is cloudy and cool. Rain, highly unusual for this time of year, is forecast. A few scattered drops have begun to fall, smearing the ink on the page of my notebook. Looking upstream I can see the leaves on a handful of small broadleaf maples and willows have begun to turn color, otherwise it’s just green, green, green. A belted kingfisher chatters loudly as it zips past me, flying just a few feet above the river’s surface. A black phoebe is perched on a willow branch, darting out with surgical precision to grab an insect in mid-air. The whole scene is mesmerizing. 

River otters are common throughout the Russian River watershed too. Numerous times in the past I’ve been fortunate to have seen them from this very spot. When I’m here I can’t help but have a little expectation that they’ll choose to show themselves to me again. But alas nature is on its own mysterious schedule so I breathe in the tranquility and beauty of this day and this enchanted spot on the river, keeping an open mind and an open heart to whatever comes my way. Autumn is on the horizon.

fog blanket

a change in light

gentle wind

ushers autumn in