Autumn Angst

I love Gerard Hopkins' poem, "Spring and Fall," which portrays a little girl crying over fallen leaves. It begins, "Margaret, are you grieving over Goldengrove unleaving?" The poem concludes, "It is Margaret you mourn for." There is an intrinsic sadness about fall, as green things die, just like people do.
Every year, Dave and I fight that autumn angst. We mingle in Salt Lake festivals like the Avenues Fair, the Greek Festival, the State Fair, and Oktoberfest, and we retreat to Iron Blossam Lodge at Snowbird for the timeshare we have owned for more than ten years. It carries warm memories of many happy times, even as the world around us is becoming chilly. We spent an hour or more, on September 11, 2011, at the Avenues Fair. We loved the many ethnic food booths. Some were Hispanic, with tacos and fruit drinks, but the booming booths, this year were Tibetan. There were many momos (steamed meat dumplings) being sold.

At the fair, there were contortionists, tattoo artists, shaved ice, and a hula hooper.

Who could resist a chance to be a lion-tamer?

We moved into our Iron Blossam condo at Snowbird for the week, doing the traditional things that help us ease into autumn--visiting Oktoberfest, sitting on the balcony looking at the mountains, eating at the resort restaurants, taking some small hikes and feeling the chill in the air.

We ate cioppino at the Wildflower Restaurant and looked out at the stunning mountains during dinner.

The next morning, we awoke to see snow on the mountains.

It was cozy in Room 618. Dave relaxed and read.

One of the special luxuries of our Snowbird week is driving down the canyon each morning just as it gets light.

The Salt Lake Valley appears like a mirage.

I paused by the roadside, just to savor the morning.