It’s a misty raining morning with no breeze and the temperature is not low. Under an umbrella, I gaze around. Days ago, the fall colors were patches which each patch can be imaged as an unframed canvas painting. Today the patches of fall colors have diffused into grand masterpieces.
On sunny days, the fall colors look light and bright. On rainy days, they turn to darker and heavier. Walking in this quiet drizzle morning and being surrounded by cleanness and rich fall colors, I slow down with mindfulness.
It stops raining when I am at the entrance of the woods. The withdrawal of my umbrella brings me a great feeling of freedom and briskness. A small bird with pale grey body and black stripped head is standing on a stick of a shrub. His/her appealing looking evokes my willingness of taking him/her pictures. But the bird doesn’t read my kindness, he/she keeps flying through the low sticks, landing here and there, watching my motions.
In the woods, the leaves from diverse trees in different heights are presenting richer fall colors. For those tall straight trees lining along the trail, in past spring and summer, I saw them shading the trail with their vigorous small green leaves on the optical fiber looking branches. What a nice shady trail! These trees create a tunnel walling off the dazzling sunshine. I appreciated these trees whenever I walked through the tunnel. Now the thinner leaves have changed color from green to yellow, orange and red . I stop and look up into the sky. Those small colorful leaves against the pale blue sky look like blooming fireworks in a peaceful morning, absolutely gorgeous!
The leaves from a type of short shrub in the swamp area have uniformly changed to a fresh color of lemon. I am stunned. These shrubs growing in the swamp area, shadowed by tall trees around, look so petty. Just two months ago, I have been worrying if the field of shabby-looking shrub would survive from the ever-last hot waves’ attack. Now I see not only they have survived from the drought, they even contribute the woods a blooming garden in fall!
The trees with height in between are cherry, birch, beech, oak ect. Each type of trees has colorful leaves in unique shape. From the fall leaves scattering on the trail, I pick up a few pieces. Piece by piece, I rub them between my thumb and forefinger. A fondness rising from my heart tells me to bring them home as bookmarks.
把大芋头煮熟，压碾成SMASHED TARO， 然后混入油，糖，糯米粉，再揉成球，最后入油炸成这种金黄色的芋枣。外脆内软，好吃极了。年节到来时做点炸果子吃会有年节味。
