A Time for Every Season

On this last Sunday of Summer, I’m feeling a twinge of disappointment. I love Summer, and I’m sad to see it end. I love the bright sunshine, and not having to wear a jacket. I love sleeping with the windows open, so I can hear the wildlife rustling around at night and wake up to the music of birds singing in the early morning. I love riding around in the car with the windows down, playing classical music and watching the reactions of people who notice it.

But the end of Summer means the beginning of Autumn, and I love Autumn, too. I love the dramatic and vivid changing colors, and the intermittent crisp temperatures, and the smoky smell of Autumn.

Then Autumn will give way to Winter. I love Winter, too. I even love snow. I love how it looks on the trees and ground, and how it crunches underfoot. I love the silence and stillness after a snowfall and, yes, I even love to shovel snow. It’s a gratifying feeling of accomplishment to see that clear path as a reward for my hard work.

Soon, Spring will begin to encroach as Winter wanes. I love Spring. I love those little gifts of warm Spring weather that punctuate the still chilly Winter days. I love the wager of when it’s time to remove the big warm comforter from the bed and replace it with something more suitable for Spring temperatures. And I love that the spring flowers make that same wager, as they decide when it’s finally safe to poke through the soil.

It’s easy to understand why musicians (and poets, artists and philosophers) are so entranced and inspired by the seasons. Every season is a multi-sensory experience — with its own unique sounds, smells, sensations, and emotional connotations. The changing of seasons marks the passage of time, causing us to reflect back and look ahead. Musicians and other creative artists eloquently express the range of emotions and experiences those reflections and observations can give us.

What’s your favorite season? As we bid farewell to Summer 2019, how are you feeling about the change of seasons? What are you looking forward to in Autumn and Winter? What’s your favorite music (or art or poetry) about the seasons? Here are a few to consider:

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44484/to-autumn

http://www.baroquemusic.org/vivaldiseasons.html