A narrow sliver of sunlight

It was a Friday morning, 65 degrees outside, and Sam was going to be working from home. I said at breakfast, "In the afternoon I'm going up into the canyon to sit in the sun and read for a few hours. Anyone who is done with their work may come with me."

(I would have been happy enough if no one wanted to.)

But some people DID want to, and that was even better! The older boys had other (better?) things to do, but the girls and Teddy wanted to come with me. I packed up apples and cheese slices and Our Mutual Friend, and we chose a canyon. It was a little late for Fall leaves—the last weekend of October—so I was just hoping we'd find somewhere pretty to enjoy, down in the lower areas, at least.

When we got into the canyon, everything was in shadow. And the leaves were brown and mostly fallen. As we drove up the road, we could see little patches of color off beside us here and there, and sunlight shining on yellow treetops. I finally realized (and it should have been obvious, I guess) that the sunlight and the leaf-color went together—of course, since the places that got the most sunlight are also the places that stayed warmest and lost their leaves last!

We found a nice, leafy, rocky spot where the kids could play, and climbed up the hill until we were in the sunlight. The ground was COVERED with leaves, but in the sunny places, there were leaves on the trees too. "When the sun reaches the picnic table, we will eat our little lunch," I said. (I was not sure if the sun ever WOULD! The canyon walls were so high. And the sun is in its droopy Fall pattern.)

But it did! So we had our lunch.

This was my leafy reading spot. The kids let me read…a tiny bit. Mostly they were just climbing up and down the mountain from me, finding things and then chattering to me about what they'd found. But I didn't mind being distracted. It was so beautiful, just warm enough with a sweater on, and no one was fighting. What more could anyone wish for?

The girls found many treasures. A shiny marble.

A tiny snail shell.

Big snail shells!

A leaf with a rainbow on it.

And sticks. Always sticks.

They stored their treasures in a little rock-hollow next to me.

It was rocky, and the rocks were under the leaves so you couldn't see them, and the hill was very steep, which factors all combined to make one or another of the kids fall down about every 30 seconds. Teddy was the unsteadiest of all, and I was constantly expecting him to fall and get hurt and run to me crying. But he just kept hopping up and toiling up the hillside again. He liked how independent he felt, I think.

Goldie helped him a lot, too, and it was sweet to see her holding his hand and talking him over obstacles. SHE felt independent too. Usually when we go to the canyon, the big boys are there ranging all over the place, exploring every corner—but now it was the little kids' turn to find the perfect rock-chairs and the best cozy tree-caves and the bounciest branches to ride on.

After a really short time we were in shadow again. There just wasn't much space for the low-lying sun to pass through the little window of sky above the canyon walls. It got a little chillier. But since the rocks and ridges at the top of the mountain walls are uneven, we could still see sunlit areas above us, both up the hill and up the trail. So we followed them.

Every place that got that late-afternoon sun was still brilliant with leaves! I loved this little hill, because it had a huge leafy ocean of YELLOW under one tree, and a huge leafy ocean of RED under the neighboring tree.

And I really mean an ocean! With little rocky islands peeking out from time to time.

And people floating on it.

We found multiple logs to balance on, of course. Now that the girls are in gymnastics they think everything is a balance beam.

Opening his mouth helps Teddy balance. :)

And there were several inviting little paths leading off in different directions, beckoning SOMEONE to come explore them.

We kept following the sun. And it kept running away up the canyon.

In the places where the canyon was in shadow longer, the fallen leaves had become faded and ghostly.

But in the sunny spots, even those leaves on the ground were still full of bright colors.

Finally, with a few last flashes in the treetops, the sun disappeared altogether below the canyon walls. It was only a few hours after it had first appeared. The canyon got cold and shadowy. So, we went home.