Summer heat is still holding on but the arrival of autumn is imminent. The light is changing. Leaves are beginning to fall. It always seems to be a time of transition that extends beyond the weather. I welcome it with open arms.
Fall on the frontier is such a charming setting at Disneyland. It harkens to harvests and simpler times. As I moseyed around the Frontierland shops last fall, I found myself enamored with these fallen leaves. Their color. Their arrangement. Everything about them.
Naturally, I had a heyday taking photos of them. Standing wouldn’t do. It wasn’t the right perspective so I experimented with squatting and kneeling until finally I found myself nearly prostrate. A couple on a nearby bench seemed to find it quite entertaining and I didn’t mind. I rather enjoy making people smile. As I was on the ground, passersby would make their way around without disturbing the leaves. It was a very light crowd day, so there weren’t many to begin with. That is, until a small group of people came trampling through like wildebeests on a stampede mere inches in front of me.
I was in frustrated disbelief.
It was only a moment before I burst into laughter, joined by the couple on the bench. What else can you do in that situation? The leaves were broken and rearranged into a sloppy mess. The lesson for today — Don’t be a stampeding wildebeest. Take your time and enjoy the little things. Like autumn leaves and photographers doing all manner of strange things to capture them.
