The golden-framed red berries on our backyard mountain ash (upper left in photocollage) reminded my wife and me the other day that the time had come to pay our annual autumn visit to Kananaskis Country. We did, and we were not disappointed.
So, on Sept. 25, Mary Anna and I drive down the Kananaskis River Valley along Hwy 40 as far as Kananaskis Village (main photo), enraptured by the back-lit golden-leafed glory all along the way, and the air at its refreshing best.
Everywhere we looked, small stands of golden trees stood out against lush green backdrops. One bush we encountered was embracing its gold in crimson. And even the freckled fall foliage was at its inspiring best.
For us in our golden years, our K-Country visit reminded me that we are in that special season of life when we can radiate our own inner beauty in all its golden splendour. As our longtime reader G. L. “Larry” Spackman put it to me the other day:
“We may have passed our spring and summer days of green, but in some ways we can be even more beautiful in our fall colours – and ultimately, even in falling to earth, we can become the nourishment for future generations.”
© 2024 Warren Harbeck
