To Earth All Things Return

I was noticing the acridity of the air today - it's that late autumn smell of decaying leaves and since it was quite warm on my walk this afternoon. I blasted out of work and went off to walk around Pomps Pond and through to Ballardvale. It was late enough in the day that I saw a beaver out for a late day swim. The beaver didn't slap it's tail at me, that's only happened once. I had hoped this one would warn me off, when we became aware of each other, but maybe the beaver figured it was just too cold for a furless critter like me to venture into the water. At any rate it continued it's leisurely swim with little concern for my presence. The beavers have taken down some good sized trees so I'm not sure I want to provoke a rodent that's capable of felling a full grown hardwood. I also encountered a great blue heron in the marsh. Probably interupted his evening fishing. Ooops.

Parts of the path have been blown clear of most leaves, and they are settling into the dried grasses, beginning the slow process of decay, retuning to the earth. As every leaf does. Every blade of grass. And one day me too. There are worse ways to end one's existence.