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The Thoughtful Spot

October 2021 - By a Pond

10/31/2021

 
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Autumn is a second Spring, when every leaf is a flower.

- Albert Camus

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I am sitting on a bench overlooking a small duck pond, which is currently divested of its few waddling inhabitants, as it is late afternoon and they know by habit that if they wander over to a certain house in the neighborhood about this time they are ensured a hearty dinner.  This sun in bright and mellow, "the maturing sun," Keats called it, and that seems to describe it perfectly today, it is not exuberant, but constant.   Above me is a canopy of brilliant orange, made even more intense by the sunlight, and just across the street is a row a  gold.


As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas, and colors
enough to paint the beautiful things I see.

- Vincent van Gogh
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Four young ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) trees, resplendent in drooping branches of brilliant yellow leaves stand there, to walk beneath them is to enter a great hall of golden arches, with a golden carpet underfoot.  I've always loved ginkgo trees.  I love their tenacity and longevity even in harsh environs, their legendary benefits for the mind and memory are fascinating, and their graceful, almost willow-like branches, which earned them the common name "maidenhair tree," are stunning.    But I think my favorite thing about them is the curious fact that these leaves must not be harvested while green and thriving, as one might expect, but now, in all their golden glory, just as they fall from the tree. 


Lo! I am come to autumn / When all the leaves are gold...

- G. K. Chesterton, Gold Leaves
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Along the tops of all the yellow trees,
The golden-yellow trees, the sunshine lies;

- George MacDonald, Autumn's Gold

I cannot resist gathering up a great armful of these brilliant leaves and tossing them into the air to watch them tumble down.  This cheerful little thoughtful spot is chilly but bright on this glorious, final shout of color day.  What a perfect ending to autumn. 

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    Do You Have a
    Thoughtful Spot?

    Many current trends in natural health focus on ecotherapy and shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, reiterating with scientific studies and medical terminology something that Winnie the Pooh taught us many years ago:  we all need
    a "Thotful Spot". 
    We need a little corner surrounded by nature where we can sit and be still, ponder and pray, and observe closely the beauty around us. 

    These posts are musings and meanderings from my Thoughtful Spots, recorded once every month, and interspersed with occasional ramblings about my favorite medicinal herbs. 

    I hope you'll join me in finding a Thoughtful Spot, visit it often, record the things that make you marvel, and remember,

    "the world will never  starve for want of wonders..."
     - G.K. Chesterton

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