An Outdoor Adventure, The Fall Time of Year, life is about to start...

A written poetry piece, just for fun and entertainment...

"School has started. Summer Paddling is over. Canoeing and Kayaking is over for this year. Huh?"

I hear that from many, this time of year. There are the splash and play swimmers, and I am one too. OK guilty. I love playing too, splashing and swimming, that hot sunny and fun time of year that gets everyone out by the masses. The rivers are crowded, the river stream teams now cleaning the messes that are left behind, that is if there is one for the river, as life rolls into the fall season. It is a fall adventure sport time of year.

But truly for some of us it is nearing time of relief! Not our friends on the rivers, as we all love that too, but from that heat! Oh that heat! The wildlife is bothered, deer on the road, snakes looking for shade and laying right in your path, trying to find any cool spot on the ground. Ticks are bad too, in the woods. Not our best side, the Ozarks, for sure. It is when we keep things between the lines, the river banks, the beaches. Summer Canoeing and kayaking, Oh, how I long for the fall adventure sport of paddling. Is this all of life?

For the rest of us though, relief is in sight. That jet stream is "starting to swinging", the beautiful fall temperatures come with a fresh rinsing joy of moisture, making the word color a highlight once again. With highs in the 60's and 70's and lows in the 40's and 50's, one can actually enjoy the warmth of a campfire again! Now the walks begin, again with the cool breezes, a little hiking and exercise with that extra piece of fleece and shell jacket in tow, the cameras and picnics, the scenery to see on foot, from canoe hiking or kayak hiking, one can get off the river, as well as on the river, once again! With our huge acres presented for our use, all camp able, all reachable by kayak and foot, all opens up to us, all in the fall. Life is around the corner.

That camp fire. Ohh, I love that campfire. The crackle, the fascination of the fire that glimmers, makes everyone's eyes glimmer that gazes into it, and that feeling of warmth, much like the sun on a hot summer day of swimming. No sun burn! Just like a fish on a thermal climb, you pick your warmth by the distance from the fire, your thermal spot. Hot or not, just right, life is about to happen.

This is when the "outdoorsman" know, as hunting season approaches and the camo becomes the fashion of the season. It is the best time to be in the woods. They know. With any season in the hot August, they will probably pass. They get up very early for this fall crisp day, ready for the early mornings the hot coffee smelling so good, just the pleasure of the stay. There is more to hunting than the killing of something. The preparation, the campfires, the comradery, the blending with camo that has nothing to do with the doctors office, or any office. It is not black and white, it does not make your eyes blur. Green with black and tan, accompanied by muted browns, oranges, reds, focus comes in the colors, and in many other ways. Hunting is a way of life here, but is a limited to a window of time. All those other weeks of just adventure sport exploring, life is about to begin!

Arrowheads in the side creek beds, to deer sheds in the winter, the season starts now, with canoeing, kayaking, hiking, and camping fun, that we know. The Old Mill, The river is running great, skirt up the kayak and stay warm and dry. The cool gear from fleece to water shelling, from sandals to neoprene water shoes, dry bags, time to get it out once again and put the swim trunks and swimsuits away. The thrift stores they say, three dollar bargains for some fun, to that name brand Patagonia strut, for those that can. It is indeed, all the same... Wicking polypro, those long undies, fleece poly pile pullovers, and the fleece pants, shell jackets from nylon to gore tex, the boots, actually afforded by all, please cool it down out there! I don't swim in these! It is too hot and I love this stuff. life is about to start!

The leaves, the trees, the colors that please, a drive from the car? You bet, on the way to the stars. Open air camping for those that are bold, or have that right bag, to see twenty shooting stars as they gaze off to sleep. The morning so crisp, the dew on the lip, from the whole in the bag, time for a sigh. A really long one. Just lay there, don't move. I don't have to. This is so nice. Listen to the wildlife, the rapids by the camp, the sun coming up, the drips, the glistening, the color of the sunrise, life is about to rise.

We, those that are bold., experience life as a whole. The fall outdoor adventure, a new fall purpose. To see things come to an end is like being born. It is all part of life. To witness the cycle of life so wide spread, so much in awe, all that surrounds you is going to sleep, to lay under a bed of snow, to wake to another year, another year, the beauty of life before your very eyes. Our lives are the same only a longer cycle in time, so soak up the views, the scenery, the moods, as life happens before your eyes, many years in our life. Bringing out more than I brought in, making me feel good, like a part of the wind. The blessings we have, to enjoy. It is all there, for you too. Life is about to "become the outdoors", in the fall, a comfortable, a quiet, a wonderful place once again...