September 2004

16 September 2004

As autumn’s shadow eases southward, I see new beginnings as often as endings--new students, new courses, new energy, of course--but also new life. Butterflies and moths stretch newly created wings after having spent the summer eating and building the resources needed for their dramatic transformation. Some search for mates to continue their lifecycle, while others fuel their new bodies for the long migration south—navigating with innate compass and map unerringly to mountain roosts. Young squirrels with no memories of past winters busily gather and hide precious stores of nuts. Fall blooming plants awaken after months of drought and move fluids through their vessels again, activating the machinery of growth and reproduction.

Yet amongst these signs of life, amber edges of still green leaves speak of what’s to come.

Like all nature’s seasons, fall is full of contradictions--life, death, changes, movement toward and away. Welcome back to campus. It’s a new/old world!