flights of fancy

Heard the rain this morning. Got pretty heavy for a while. I was glad I didn't have to be out in it. It will probably stop before time to leave for Sunday School. And thank you, God, for a good roof.

Next thought was "oh, rats, I shoulda put the grill in the garage yesterday when I was thinking about it." Flipped on the light switch and shot a quick glance to the back patio. Yep, sodden. Oh, well. I'll dry it off and bring it in this afternoon.

Spied the lawn chairs, folded up and leaning rigidly against the patio table. I think I'll leave them out for a few more days. Weather in Texas being the way it is, there are perhaps twenty days in a year that I can actually sit on the patio, and drink coffee laced with delicious morning air.

Also saw the leaves, still for the most part green, but advancing yellow and red becoming a part of the landscape. And wondered about why leaves change color in the fall. Did a quick internet search and came up with thousands of sites where people have expounded on the various chemicals in trees and which ones cause leaves to turn red, or yellow, or brown.

Also saw that the amount of rainfall, the amount of sun and clouds during the day, and the temperature at night all contribute to whether we have a glorious autumn display or not. But could not find anybody who had written a definitive answer for the question of why.

"While scientists understand what causes the leaves to change color, they know virtually nothing about why they change. What role does this phenomenon play in nature's broad scheme of things? The answer may be none at all. In his book Leaves: Their Amazing Lives and Strange Behavior, researcher James Poling writes: 'This is both surprising and puzzling, since nature seldom wastes energy to no purpose. Yet as far as botanists can determine, the chemical energy that goes into the painting of a leaf is of no benefit at all to the plant. The colors seem merely to herald the end of a leaf's life cycle.' "

I think I know something they don't. How marvelous that the creator, with infinite wisdom, gave us something with no purely scientific reason. It just is.

Flights of fancy abound.

Mine, and yours, to enjoy the result of the Great Painter's brush.