Autumn Magic

Awash with autumn fire, the canyon slices into the Mogollon Rim high above the headwaters of Canyon Creek. Each year late October brings its dazzling display to this and countless other hidden places throughout the rim country.Cascading down the boulder-strewn depths, trickles of color become a billowing torrent as dappled multihued greens slip across the spectrum into brilliant yellow, tawny orange, and radiant red. In a matter of days, the deluge will fade again to a trickle, leaving only scattered drops of hot crimson to join the pooling iridescence beneath the trees.

Around me light breezes stir the colors to a gentle dance. The polychrome swirl is visually numbing and refuses to fit into my rectangles. Patient, knowing it will pass, I pick my way among the boulders.

Overhead a gust of warming air looses a silent shower of burnished red and gold, shattering the spell into innumerable rectangular shards of shimmering light. With great care and reverence, I gather them, one by one.