The Most Magical Season of All

Fall is the most magical season of them all. Whenever I walk outside on a chilly fall morning, or a warm fall afternoon, I am immediately hypnotized by the beauty and elegance of the scenery. I love to watch as the graceful, colorful leaves dance and sway in the crisp Autumn wind. I stand and watch in awe as the beauty unfolds in front of me.

Simply sitting outside on the yellow, shaven, grass and watching the peaceful scene is like jumping straight into a Bob Ross painting. The tree is the paint brush, the leaves are the paint, and the ground is the canvas, waiting to be turned into a masterpiece. When a leaf falls from a tree, it is like the leaf is painting the ground. When I look at the ground, I do not see a bundle of leaves, I see a work of art. Sometimes in the leaves I see a picture, an animal, a place, or even someone I know. There are endless possibilities to what I can see.

When I jump in a pile of leaves, I imagine I am flying high in the bright, blue sky and landing in a crisp corn field. I think of corn because the leaves are sometimes sharp around the edges, like the sharp edges on a stalk of corn. I imagine that when I land in that imaginary corn field that the corn stalks will soften my fall, like leaves do.

When I go apple picking in the fall, the whole orchard smells like everything and anything apple. Apple pie, apple juice, apple cider, apple cobbler and many more delicious apple products. When I climb onto a slick, golden apple tree to pick some tasty apples, I feel like I am in a different world when my head goes through the branches. It’s truly magical.

When I take a bite of soft apple pie, I imagine I am biting into a fluffy cloud. The pie’s edges are crisp and crunchy, but the inside is warm and creamy, like how I imagine a cloud would be. The tender apples melt in my mouth. The creamy inside of the pie has a soft, warm consistency, and it tickles my throat as I swallow the hot cream. The cold chunks of apple and the warm cream go perfectly together and make apple pie the best fall treat.

When I ride in a truck full of hay, I imagine I am riding in a carriage, taking a trip to a castle. The way the truck bumps on the jagged rocks on the dirt road feels and sounds like horses trotting in front of a carriage. The soft hay underneath my bottom feels as soft as silk cushions, like in a royal carriage.

When I sip a mug of warm hot chocolate, I imagine I am drinking liquid gold that was melted in a blacksmith’s stove. The yummy drink clears my throat of fall allergies and is utterly delicious. When the steaming drink touches my cold lips, my lips begin to tingle, and my throat burns in a very familiar and comforting way. When I drop soft, fluffy marshmallows on the top of my blistering drink, they quickly absorb the liquid and become heavy and soggy, just the way I like them. When I drop one on my cold tongue the marshmallow immediately melts and leaves a sweet, yummy taste in my now warm mouth. Hot chocolate is without a doubt, the best fall drink.

I love hiking, especially in the fall. The colorful leaves twirl in the wind, and in the crisp autumn mornings young songbirds sing an autumn ballad. Red squirrels and opossums scurry across the trails, searching for food before the frosty winter. Snakes, frogs, and lizards sunbathe on warm rocks in the hot autumn afternoons. Hedgehogs are born in the fall. I watch the little babies roll in the colorful leaves and I giggle at their childish behavior. In the cold nights barn owls stare a hole into my soul with their orange, sharp eyes. Red foxes hunt down small dormouse in the tall, yellow corn fields. Deer prance through the wooded fields but are easily scared away by a red fox’s high-pitched howl. Chinook salmon swim gracefully in the cold, gurgling streams. They’re flashy fins glisten in the hot sun. Droplets of water splash onto my face and it cools my hot skin.

Fall has always been the loveliest season for me. Its beauty sets it apart from any other time of year. There are so many wonderful and glorious aspects of fall that I simply cannot write about them all in a mere eight hundred words. Luckily for me, all these magical things are happening outside of my door right now and I must go enjoy them!

Madelyn Wicks, 6th Grade (2021-2022)

Photo by Travis Doody, 9th Grade (2021-2022) Earth Day Photography Contest Winner