Autumn's Time of Splendor

🍁🍃🍂 It is "autumn’s time of splendor".  Paul Laurence Dunbar 🍁🍃🍂 This afternoon, some surrounding trees lining streets and highways shared their new blaze of autumn color. The highlight of this seasonal day occured in front of my home. Leaves in shades of amber, golden yellow, scarlet, and deep orange danced in front of my home in a mini leafnado fashion. From a meteorological perspective, a small amount of air began to rotate. It lifted and spinned the dry autumn leaves that moved in a chaotic, circular motion. Observing nature was breathtaking. Nature created  a scene of autumnal grandeur. While I added more Halloween decorations to my porch, I listened to the breeze floating by and the crunch of leaves underfoot. In the beauty of the warm afternoon, Autumn cast a magical spell, a quiet transition into the last weeks of fall. magic in the air floats throughout Autumn's season nature's calming gift 🍁🍃🍂 Poetry Friday Thank you to Jone Rush McCulloch for hosting Poetry Friday and inviting friends to create an ode to our favorite candy.  Reflect upon your thoughts and share your ode here. Jone is also hosting another ZOOM event, Poetry Pop-Up Salon, on Friday, December 11th. Join the fun! 🍁🍃🍂 My favorite candy on Halloween is candy corn, so why not add my Ode to Candy Corn to Jone, our host, who is waiting for the last writer to enter  Poetry Friday. 🍁🍃🍂 My freshly baked cookies were decorated with candy corn! 🍁🍃🍂  I  created the first set of lines so if I have time, I will submit my poem to the Poetry Sisters: Tanita, Laura, Tricia, Sara, Liz, Mary Lee 🍁🍃🍂 I continue my open invitation to poets, writers, and artists to showcase  their creativity at Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Padlet Gallery here. There is a special section for those who enjoy creating Halloweenish, artistic expressions.. It's Halloween so join the fun.     My Digital Art

Autumn Days

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The leaves are changing; 

I feel poetry in the air.

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by Laura Jaworski

Do you also feel this wherever you live? 

Autumn Days

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on autumn days 

fall, leaves, fall

without delay

like a storm of gold

in disarray -

colors unfold

in nature's hand

the day beholds

a brilliant plan -

admire the scene

feel a sudden chill

notice what's unseen

coming your way

in costumed fancy

on halloween day

©cvarsalona, 2026 

quick write with italized quotes by Emily Dickenson and Polly Chase

Lady Autumn image from Pinterest

🪾🍂🍃INVITATION🪾🍂🍃

October slowly moves from slight chills to dropping temperatures, and dried, crunching trees. Lady Autumn decides to slip into her Halloween mood. Perhaps, you will add an image poem, photograph, artwork, or music to Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Gallery of Artistic Expressions. You can find my padlet by clicking here. There are seven offerings so far that will be showcased. 

Not to Scare you away but just for fun, I ad my digital art.

My Photo Booth Contribution

🪾🍂🍃POETRY FRIDAY🪾🍂🍃

Thank you Tracey Kiff-Judson at Tangles and Tails for hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup and adding your thoughts on figurative language, similes and metaphors to make writing pop.

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Dear Readers, I will be volunteering at my grandgirls Homecoming Parade event this afternoon and night.  My blog reading will continue throughout the weekend.

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Harvesting My Thoughts

In Autumn, my thoughts ripen like apples on orchard trees. This time of year, nature lovers enjoy the beauty of seasonal change. Colorful hues start to shine, and weather patterns vary. Daily walks are common in my community. Throughout the state, harvest festivals and events are advertised because Autumn is here!  

I reflect back on my high school days when bundles of autumn leaves crunched beneath my feet. I enjoyed listening to nature's sounds, breathing in the crisp air, and gathering colorful leaves to press with wax paper. I was definitely present in those moments. As years passed, life became cluttered with work and motherhood, but Autumn days were the pause that always brought joy. Now, I look back and remember the importance of being in awe of nature. Memories last. Autumn leaves dancing on my lawn prepares me once again for the full arrival of Lady Autumn and her color-making wand.

Join me today for another segment of Nature's Envoy.

Digital Artwork from CVarsalona

In the crisp chill of

a glorious fall afternoon,

Lady Autumn reigns.

Birds flutter and scramble for seeds
cascading from tiny bird feeders,

chorusing away in gratitude.

Crimson and caramel leaves pirouette downward,

carpeting lawns as hours slip by

Waiting for dusk to layer the sky.

As Lady Autumn yields to rest,

Sunset weaves its colorful hues and
Shadows tuck the world to sleep.

©CVarsalona, 2026    Image from Pinterest

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Mentor Text from Alexander Posey (1973-1908)

Autumn

In the dreamy silence
Of the afternoon, a
Cloth of gold is woven
Over wood and prairie;
And the jaybird, newly
Fallen from the heaven,
Scatters cordial greetings,
And the air is filled with
Scarlet leaves, that, dropping,
Rise again, as ever,
With a useless sigh for
Rest—and it is Autumn.

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🍁🍃🍂 Invitation 🍁🍃🍂

Do you agree that Lady Autumn should welcome rest?

I invite all the writers, artists, and poets to join me at my new Gallery of Artistic Expressions, Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Padlet, for a creative and imaginative tribute to Lady Autumn and the beauty of the majestic Autumn season. You can add your offering to the padlet here.

I will add a digital image poem

of this week's poem to my 

Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Padlet

this weekend.

I thank my colleagues who have already submitted their artistic expressions:

Thank you to Patricia Franz, Robyn Hood Black, Tabatha Yeatts, Margaret Simon,  Karen Edmisten, and Molly Hogan for adding their artistic expressions.

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Fellow readers, let poetry fill your soul and bring you warmth on Autumn days. Join the Poetry Friday community with our host, Rose Cappelli, at Imagine The Possibilites, a long-time friend, poet, author, and educator, for this week's Roundup. 

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Glimmering Gold Brushstrokes

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We often rush through our days, hurrying to the next event or task. Autumn allows us to take advantage of her subtle changes. A quiet artistry evolves. "There is a harmony in Autumn, and a luster in its sky" (Percy Bysshe Shelly) as Lady Autumn begins her offical work. With patience, she unfolds the magic of the season. Below is a short haibun celebrating nature's beauty that I created for my Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Padlet Gallery.

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The crisp scent of autumn perfumes the morning sky. Leaves crunch underfoot and an unknown plant in the front garden suddenly bursts into bright yellow blooms. A subtle shift in color ripples throughout the neighborhood. In the woods, "nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished" (Lao Tze) - each day, Lady Autumn adds her brushstrokes to fall's transitions.                                                                                                            Photo by Jakob Owens, Unsplash

autumn paints the woods

with glimmering gold and hue

summer fades away

©CVarsalona, 2026

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Hosted by the amazing Jama Rattigan at Alphabet Soup Blog.

Jama is serving coffee or tea and a delicious looking cinnamon roll made especially for readers by Basil and Corenlius, plus a feel-good poem by Washington State poet, writer and editor Kelli Russell Agodon.

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Time to Trust

October 1st, opened "as a beautiful, bright autumn day, with air like cider and a sky so blue you could drown in it." – (Diana Gabaldon)  Trees began to change their colors with some reddish and golden hues.  It was time for Lady Autumn to spread her colortones so the season could mature.  She did not hurry through this transition from September to October, yet she opened her heart to couple the natural plan of seasonal movement with the Lord's plan and His gentle blessing for earth. 

In mid-afternoon today, I drove through the countryside to the Capital Caring Adler Center for Caring, the hospice site where my husband passed on. I was in awe of nature's countryside scenery. The quiet of nature's still movements and the beauty of early autumn allowed me time to feel what Henry David Thoreau thought centuries ago, "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our head."  It seemed apparent that Nature was not hurrying through the transition of seasons. I was to trust in the slow work of God.  While not a patient person since childhood, I finally found that being in the present moment is a positive self-care choice to slow down. I trusted that my journey on the spiritual journey would bring a sense of peace.  While feeling the progression of ups and downs along with perpetual in-and-out grief, I knew I needed to take a giant pause.

When arriving at the Adler Center this afternoon, I delivered the flower bouquets for patients and staff that were created by my Creekside Cares community. I then decided to pause and walk the beautiful grounds searching for the labyrinth maze my bereavement counselor told me about. The pathway and benches offered mindfulness in the moment time with the art of being calm. My son said a prayer for his father before entering the labyrinth. There was peace in the air as the birds chirped and the sun continued to send its rays to earth. In those moments of remembrance, I wished my husband could have shared the beauty of this autumn day in a setting that God had blessed, but life is what it is.  I know now how vital it is to put my trust in the Lord's hand and honor His plan.  

Once again, I look back to January and my one word, restore. At that time, I needed hope to restore my soul, revive my heart, and renew my life in every part.  Now at this time of year, I realize it is a necessity to add trust as another goal. I need to slow down and believe that God is gradually forming a new spirit within me.  I want trust to become a sacred word, so I shall lean on the Lord who is my strength and my song - Isaiah 12:2.  

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Today is Spiritual Journey Thursday, hosted by Patricia Franz. She asked the community to reflect upon the following prompt on trust, "Where, how are you trusting - or struggling to trust - in the slow work of God?  Patricia offered us a beautiful prayer, Patient Trust by Pierre Teilhand de Chardin, SJ. I have read this prayer many times tonight. I hope you join Patricia and other writers in the community.

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I incorporated Poetry Friday with my Spiritual Journey Thursday blog post because my just-for-me time is always sparse. I thank Margaret Simon for hosting the PF Roundup this week. You can find that here. Once you are in her website you may also be interested in reading Margaret's post on trust. You can find that here.

Now that we are entering October, I hope many of my colleagues will offer your creative work for Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Gallery of Artistic Expressions. The invitation can be found here and the padlet here.

What If (Open Letter)

Today is the third day of the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere. Lady Autumn played in the rain yesterday, but the raindrops moved at a rapid rate. The Poetry Sisters invited Poetry Pals to create a poem that uses Colby Sharp's Creativity Project! Thank you, Tanita, Laura, Mary Lee, Liz, Sara, and Tricia. 

The prompt chosen is "It was all my fault." We were asked to create a poem that uses this idea, these words, or anything that this sentence makes you think of.

What If (Open Letter)

it was all my fault,

After all, it was only the 3rd day of fall.

My wish never was honored.

Would you say that the early rainstorms

running in fierce, relentless series were my doing?

Listen to my story before judging me.

I am indeed Lady Autumn!

Yet I, too, was caught in the downpour,

 with no one to shield me,

no one to wrap me in the sun's warm blanket.

Remember, throughout this shifting season,

I walk the same tangled pathways of life with you.

I meet the very same sharp challenges.

I am here to celebrate what was and is. 

So why continue to blame me

for the storms that simply cross our way?

Sincerely, Lady Autumn, fellow traveler

(draft by CVarsalona, 2026)

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With this poem in mind, I bring Padraig O Tuama's quote from Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World, as a reflective piece.

"A poem can be like a flame: helping us find our way,

keeping us warm." 

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Fellow travelers, let poetry fill your soul and bring you warmth on chilled days. Join the Poetry Friday community with our host, Tricia Stohr-Hunt, my patient, talented poet, educator, and Summer Swap poem for this week's Roundup. 

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Notes from Carol

I invite all the writers, artists, and poets to join me at my new Gallery of Artistic Expressions, Autumn's Ephemeral Gold Padlet, for a creative and imaginative tribute to Lady Autumn and the beauty of the majestic Autumn season. You can add your offering to the padlet here. 

Last week, I hosted Poetry Friday, and a strange happening dislodged the way Mr. Linky should have provided a visible way to showcase the writers' works. I read through most of the blog posts and still have a few more to enjoy. It is delightful to reflect on each person's perspective with poetic formats, brilliant word choice, and creative endeavors.