Autumn Traveler: Autumn Tribute to Mr.Frost

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far a I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Robert Frost has always been one of my favorite American poets. His works often take us into nature and leave a twist at the end. I find his lines comprehensible, but with something thought provoking added. I thought of him this morning as I was starting to write a letter to a friend and my husband came into the house and said, "Get dressed in something warm; get your camera and go to the big meadow. The light is just right.

I dressed and then put on a winter jacket, gloves without fingers, ear muffs and hopped on the golf cart. When I got to the big meadow I gasped. It was that fantastic. The sun was hitting the woods at the far end of the meadow and the colors were at their peak. The family dog Penny was excited we were out and about and she ran along side the cart.

I parked in the middle of the meadow and started snapping shots. The perimeter had color that couldn't be beat by any trip further north. I waited for the sun to get higher and the shadows on the bottom of the trees to disappear. I decided it was my time to capture what might be gone in a few days.

So I drove the golf cart all over the farm finding shots by pointing my camera up through tree leaves to the sky and down on the ground at leaves artistically paired with rocks and moss. I took photos of leaves in the water, a small waterfall at the spring, our old barn, the pond and then I got in the car for shots around the neighborhood. I went to Gales Pond where I used to take my English classes for creative writing this time of year. I drove down a road that is so close to us that went past the Oceana Grange building. I was surprised to find that I had never been to the end of that road. I discovered a chartreuse field of asparagus all leafed out with colorful trees behind it.

I drove down another road and as I glanced to my left I saw a number of trees that were each a different solid color.The sun was hitting them just right, but when I got out to take a picture the sun had disappeared. I had to return later and got a five second opportunity to capture them in the sunshine.

Robert Frost's poem kept looping through my head all morning as I trekked down dirt roads and paved roads. Now I will show you what I saw. I'm sure everyone who lives in Michigan has seen similar sights the last few days and has them stored in their head for a cold winter's night.