09/03/03
Sudden Autumn

Most of the dream I had last night while napping was influenced by an episode of The Rockford Files that was on; basically, my mind made up images to go along with the dialogue I heard on TV. That part of the dream was confusing, so instead I'll detail another part of a dream I had in the same time period, which stood on its own and is a bit clearer.

It seemed to pick up with me heading outside to get some grass for the cat to eat. I think it was supposed to be late at night, though it was still kind of light outside; very weird, as the time seemed all jumbled up. *shrug* Ma was at home and I think she might have come outside with me, though she was busy with something else, maybe looking at her car. (It's been having problems.)

I went walking over toward the garage in the dim light and I think I was looking at the grass at first--I noticed some very nice, uniform-looking grass; more on that in a minute. But then I glanced up at the trees and with a start noticed THEY WERE ALL RED!

That's right--all the leaves, every last one, had gone red or orange or yellow! The trees, which had been green just the day before, had all changed over, just like that!

It was damp outside as if from a recent rain, and at this point it's like it grew lighter so I could see more. I looked all around me (I was standing on the little overgrown path on the south side of the garage); there were more trees than there are in real life, and less undergrowth. I saw a tree to my left (behind the garage, where there is no tree) and it was bare. BARE! Most of the rest were just reddish hued, though, and still had most of their leaves, though some were beginning to shed theirs. Crap! What had happened!!

Absolutely baffled, yet remembering my mission, I stooped down on the trail to pluck some grass. I could only find short blades, not the longer ones I prefer to give to the cat. I kept pulling up little handfuls and most of it was short though I tried to tear up a few longer blades. Again I noticed a patch of that beautiful grass from before, a bigger area this time, near the woods. I believe it had come from me tossing something with seed in it outside--maybe rodent bedding or bird food or something--this grass had sprouted up from the seeds, hence the reason why it was more beautiful and "tamer" than the wild grass. It grew in a nice even patch--all blades about the same length, nice and long and thick; a sort of cool grayish-silvery-green color with a bit of a sheen to it, not wide or flat like the grass I pick for the cat, but not insubstantial either. It was more...I was going to say spiky, but it wasn't hard or poking. As a matter of fact I swept my hand through it and it would have made a wonderful deep-pile carpet if it had been somewhat shorter. I guess I should say the stalks were more round than anything. The breeze stirred it and it looked like a little sea of grass, all waving in unison. Very pretty, almost manufactured looking. I think there might have been some seed or woodshavings around it, reinforcing the idea that it had sprouted up from something I'd tossed out. It was just in this irregular patch on the ground near the garage and I loved looking at and touching it.

Well, I did not pluck THAT grass, as it was so pretty. I went back toward the house with the handful I'd gotten from the trail and somewhere along the way met Ma. "The trees all changed!" I exclaimed. I mean, it was like, one day it's summer, then BAM, hello, it's autumn. :( This rather sums up my real-life feelings when September 1st hit. I could not believe that August was over so soon! Where did summer go? I feel very sad because I hate the cold; and here in Michigan, the winters last forever, and summer takes ages to arrive. Basically it is winter here from October/November to April/May; even this late August has been colder than usual. I feel as if summer just came and went while I wasn't looking. -_-

Ma was not as surprised as I was; she was more like, "Eh. That happens." I added, "We're going to have to go to _____ really soon before the trees go bare!" Fill in the blank with "Tahquamenon Falls" or "the UAW" or "the Hiawatha National Forest"; these are three locations I've had on my mind to visit sometime before the leaves all fall. I think it would be nice to visit at least one while they are still changing, so I can get some nice autumn pictures. In real life, when I stated my disappointment that I had not gotten to see the Forest this year like I wished (visiting it is still uncertain), my dad said he'd take us to Tahquamenon Falls instead. And I myself want to visit the UAW family center where my dad works because it is a gorgeous place. All I can keep thinking of is how last year, the leaves did not change over until late OCTOBER (unusually late in the year), and it seemed like right after they did, they all fell; the colors did not stay around very long at all.

So I think this dream reflects my fears of not being able to see these locations before winter arrives and the trees go bare, and my upset over autumn arriving so soon. I even remember thinking in the dream, when I saw the red leaves, how I had read in a travel guide (in real life--carryover into the dream) that the best time for viewing the changing of the leaves is the first weeks of October--in the dream I thought, "It's only SEPTEMBER! Autumn got here early! We have to hurry before we miss it!" :(



2003 Dreams
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