Waking Up [10.09.08]

Today's observation happened in the dead of night. Walking to my car, my nose twitched in the breeze. I sniffed something new, and yet familiar. As a strolled along the sidewalk, I realized what the odor was and where it came from. I could not believe that I didn't notice it before - it was there for the longest time. I peered up - it was there in the trees as they changed their color and fell to the ground below them. I glanced down - it was there, wafting up from the earth beneath my feet. I stopped and stood and simply took it in. My eyes closed as the essence glided over my face, and my hair whipped in the bellowing wind. My sense of smell was heightened, and there it was - crisp and clear and wonderful. The smell of fall.