Gentle

We live in such a beautiful country.

I woke just before it was light on Saturday morning and decided to go for a run along the path around the golf course as the sun came up.  This wonderful, unexpected Indian summer dawned with a perfect clear sky and a mist hugging the fields in the valley down by the river.

Even the golfers and dog-walkers were not out yet, as I jogged along crunching the leaves under my feet with squirrels, rabbits, a hare and two dancing foxes in the far field to keep me company. At the top of the climb the spires were caught by the first rays while the rest of the town was still grey and sleeping. 

As I run this route, I can see the season's change in every vista, every tree. I began in the bright greens of early summer, and yesterday leaves were falling all around me as I passed. In one place, I thought a strip of sun had slit through the trees onto the path ahead, but when I came closer it was a vivid orange stripe of tiny fruits which had dropped in the night.

"Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy." (Apollinaire).