The Poplar trees lining our property have slowly turned golden yellow. It started a couple weeks ago, with just one tree and now almost the entire row is yellow. The breeze makes the leaves dance in the warm fall sunshine, shimmering, light bouncing off the pretty leaves.
The apple and pear orchards beyond our home are turning red and orange and if there was ever a time to love living in the Yakima Valley, it might be right now. The gorgeous colors hold me captive, stopping me in my tracks to pause and look at how the trees and hills in the distance change over the course of a day.
I walk my rambunctious (a nice way of saying naughty) Labrador retriever through the orchards most evenings. He chases the resident quail and tries to sneak in a swim in the irrigation ponds. I call him back to me over and over again, where he happily shows me the apple or stick he’s found and is so very proud of. We walk as the sky turns pink and orange, growing dusky earlier and earlier. Our last stop on our loop back home is the road along the Poplar trees. The leaves swirl gently before floating down, crunching underfoot. I throw a few apples for the cows, they always eye me a little suspiciously, waiting for their snack…