Fall in a city is a lot different than… well, everywhere else.
Written by Jake Ryan
If you haven’t checked your calendar in a while, you may be unaware that it is currently October. This is the time for horror movies, pumpkins, ghosts, apples and geese flying south. Outside of decorations or the weather turning, it can sometimes be difficult to tell the seasons have even changed in a large city like Cleveland. It can be quite the surprise, leaving the city and seeing a sea of red, yellow and orange on the trees.
For those who live in the city, there’s no other way to describe it but as a shock to the system. Out in the sticks, the world has been transforming slowly but surely into something akin to a painting. Back in the city, things seem much the same. It’s almost like the world down here didn’t get the memo, or at the very least, the memo is harder to understand.
That’s not to say that there’s no change. There aren’t any magical trees in downtown Cleveland that can survive up until December. There is change, it’s just harder to see. City life is fast, but ironically, the adaptation of the world around it is slow – the natural world that is. The quick-moving city folk show their fall colors before the leaves do. When you think of fall, you think of pumpkins and pumpkin spice. Decorations cover apartment walls, doormats have skeletons and scarecrows on them and the scents of candles switch from summertime beaches to apple orchards.
Outside the comfort of personal abodes, the city remains stagnant. The buildings look the same, the streets are still plain shades of gray and black and you’d even be hard-pressed to find any businesses that have done much in terms of decoration. It’s as if that aforementioned hustle and bustle shuts off the creative parts of our brains.
In the words of the great fictional Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
Sometimes a bit of slowing down comes in the form of a walk in the woods or in a park, taking in the cool breeze and changing colors. A little reminder that it’s ok to savor the little things. The homework, projects and deadlines can wait.
None of this is to knock on the city of Cleveland, or any large city for that matter, instead it’s mainly to remind you dear readers of the importance that a little bit of nature can serve in your life. So go out to a pumpkin patch or apple orchard. Work your way through a corn maze while sipping on a hot chocolate. Take a breather and stare at the leaves falling off the trees.
Here are some pictures of fall-like vibes.