Muted colors on the forest floor

Keep looking
London, ON
October 2023
This photo originally shared on Instagram

We’ve headed into the woods a number of times in recent days, but autumn colours have been difficult to find - as if nature itself refuses to reflect joy.

We’d be forgiven for giving up, then, for staying inside and not wasting our time chasing the muted tones that now define the landscape around us.

But still, we go. Because even muted scenes have merit. Because even if we fail to find what we were originally looking for, we haven’t wasted our time at all. Because just setting out has its own rewards.

Staring at the crumpled leaves and stripped branches on the silent forest floor, I can’t help but feel they reflect the end of something, the closing of a chapter, the beginning of a cold winter, the absence of any final flourish to mark the moment.

Maybe this is an analog for the broader planet. Maybe we mourn without color now. Maybe sadness paints our midst in faded shades. Maybe silence is our new defining soundtrack.

But still, we head out. Still, we endure. Still, we will return after the coming winter, when the lifeless mess we see here feeds a new generation of riotous life.

It may never be the same as it once was. But it’ll be masterful in its own right. And we’d hate to miss the show.

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