Quietude - the dying of the year

Thistles - ephemeral in the October sunlight

Fungi growing on a tree stump

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Stillness settles over the land.

Dead wood and foliage return to the earth to fertilise the soil for next year's growth.

Nothing is wasted, all is renewed.

Back to the earth

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The end of October brings the the cycle of the year to a close - with the dying of the old year it is a time to reflect on loved ones that have passed through the door of life into the misty realms of memory.

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"I know the year is dying,

Soon the summer will be dead.

I can trace it in the flying

Of the black crows overhead;

I can hear it in the rustle

Of the dead leaves as I pass,

And the south wind's plaintive sighing

Through the dry and withered grass.

Ah, 'tis then I love to wander,

Wander idly and alone,

Listening to the solemn music

Of sweet nature's undertone;

Wrapt in thoughts I cannot utter,

Dreams my tongue cannot express,

Dreams that match the autumn's sadness

In their longing tenderness."

Mortimer Crane Brown, 'Autumn Dreams'