An Autumn Morning in Las Vegas

the pink of dawn fades
as clouds change to white and gray
trashcans at the curb

It is Wednesday, October 9, 2013, and, as usual for this day of the week, I rose from the couch before dawn. I made coffee, took out the trash, switched the computers on, and logged into writing.com. I poured myself a cup of hot black coffee and looked out my living room window. I watched as dawn turned the clouds pink and then, after a few seconds, the clouds faded from pink to various colors of gray.

Las Vegas autumn
a chilly windy morning
oak leaves change colors

When I took the trash to the curb, I checked the neighbor's oak tree to see if the color of the leaves have changed. This morning, most of them are still green, but that will not last long. Soon the leaves will turn orange and begin to fall. The wind will blow the leaves across the yard and into the street or into other neighbors yards.

Las Vegas autumn
my favorite time of year
the weather is nice

Haibun-Haiku: Oak leaves changing colors

oak leaves are changing
their green if fading each day
a chill in the air

I noticed that the leaves on the neighbors oak tree have begun to change color. The green on some of the leaves are fading to yellow, while others are beginning to turn orange. This morning, when I went out to get the newspaper there was a chill in the air. I did not stay out very long, but I did get a change to look up and see the morning star.

The Last Friday in November 2011

Oak trees shed their leaves
Scatter them across brown lawns
A chill in the air

When I went outside to pick up my newspaper, I noticed that there were yellow and gold oak leaves scattered across the neighbor’s yard. A few of the leaves were falling, but most of the leaves still clung to the tree. This afternoon the wind increased and more leaves fell from the tree. In a couple of days, someone will begin raking the leaves and putting them in a trash bag for the garbage trucks to hall away.

When I was a child, people racked leaves into piles and burned them. I can remember my grandfather raking the cottonwood and elm leaves that covered his yard. After he racked the leaves into piles, he would burn them. Grandpa always had a water hose close by in case of an emergency. He never burned leaves without having a source of water incase the fire got out of hand.

Today, it is against the law the burn leaves in the city, so the leaves we put into bags or trashcans and let the garbage trucks hall them away. The leave could also be used as mulch, but since neither my neighbor nor myself plant a garden the leaves are put in the trash.

A chilly fall morning

A chilly morning
When the damp air penetrates
Oak leaves warm the ground

The tech arrives this afternoon to fix the heat pump, but I’m cold right now. I am wearing three sweaters and Mom is sitting on the couch under a blanket. I checked the thermostat a few minutes ago and it indicated the temperature in the house is 60 degrees. I know it got down to at least 59 degrees last night in the house. I am not sure what the outdoor temperature was, but I know it must have been between 45 and 55 degrees. Leaves from the neighbor’s oak tree cover the ground. The lawn next door looks like it is wearing an orange sweater.

Autumn has arrived

Today is the first day of autumn and I live in Las Vegas. Trees are still green and from the feel of the weather there won't be a freeze anytime soon. That means the trees will stay green for some time to come. It's this time of year that I miss Oklahoma and the leaves turning from green to orange and yellow.

Of course, when the leaves turn that means more work because the leaves start falling off the tree. Then you have to rake them, put them in plastic trash bags and sit them on the curb for the crews of the garbage trucks to pick up. When I was a child, my grandfather burned the leaves, which fell off his cottonwood tree. However, burning leaves isn't done anymore.

I don't miss the smell of burning leaves as much as I miss the beauty of fall and the leaves turning all sorts of beautiful colors. After the leaves changed then you waited for the first snowfall of the year. You hoped that it would snow on Christmas because a white Christmas was beautiful.

I was born on a snowless Christmas Eve, eleven minutes before midnight. That sounds like a good idea for a Christmas poem. I know it isn't even Halloween or Thanksgiving but it isn't too early to think of Christmas poems.

Good Morning Writing World

19 Qawl 164 B.E. - Tuesday, December 11, 2007 about 8:25 AM PST

It's a beautiful, but chilly morning in Las Vegas. I've had two cups of coffee and the pain in my knee is gone. I don't think the pain leaving has anything to do with the two cups of coffee. Once I get up and moving the pain goes away for a little while. The knee bothered me yesterday, but the reason for that was climbing stairs.

I climbed two sets of stairs when I went to pay a bill. There were no elevators convenient to the stair locations. In addition, I parked by building A when I actually wanted building B, which will teach me to read the letters on the buildings. I'll know better next month.

Despite driving all over town yesterday, I did get some writing accomplished. I wrote a response to the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge on writing.com and a poem. I wrote a Haiku about changing leaves.

It's finally fall in Las Vegas. While I drove around on business yesterday (that's the only type of driving I do any more) I saw the yellow and orange leaves. It's early December and the leave are just changing here in Vegas.