THE CYCLE OF CHANGE

First came the rain, then the wind, then the temperature drop.  There's no doubt that Fall has finally arrived in south central Pennsylvania.  Yesterday was the first day that I pulled on my white biking jacket to keep me warm.  (Halfway up Starview Road I realized that I probably didn't need it.)  The foliage, here in York County, is just about at it's peak. Like the the temperature, the leaves too are changing...but this year (I'm not sure if it was the above average heat of the summer or the lack of rain in the area) the colors aren't as spectacular as last year...maybe it's just my imagination, but that's my perspective.

My bike parked under the same KEEP PENNSYLVANIA BEAUTIFUL sign as it was on September 2, 2016.  The sunflower fields east of Mount Wolf have changed significantly, yet Pennsylvania is still Beautiful -- October 24, 2016


What remains of the sunflower fields along N Sherman Street Ext just east of Mount Wolf -- October 23, 2016

Farmer Dan's Pumpkin Stand along Canal Road just west of Manchester, PA -- October 11, 2016

The retention pond next to Beshore School Road in Manchester, PA.  The colors just aren't as vibrant as last year.  Still...there's nothing like this time of season.  -- October 23, 2016

Change, like the turning of the seasons, is inevitable.  I often remind myself that change makes things different...and different isn't necessarily better or worse...it's just different.  Yesterday, as I passed the same sunflower field that I photographed six weeks ago, I noticed that it was different...but yet just as beautiful in a new way.  You see...change is all around us.  We can't avoid it.  It's necessary, and ultimately, it can't be stopped.  Change CAN be embraced, though.  In the past, I would make comments about how "ugly" winter was.  How I missed the colors of Spring, Summer, and Autumn.  Then, a few years back, my wonderful wife surprised me with a Christmas trip to Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello.  Of all the nerdy things I experienced on that trip, the biggest take away for me was the colors I saw in photos we took there.  The seasons had changed, winter was upon us, but yet the colors were there.  Not the same as they would be in the summer...but there was no denying they were there.   Since then, the change of seasons has been so much easier for me.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello -- December 29, 2012


This picture of the gardens at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello opened  my eyes  to the amazing colors of the winter season -- December 29, 2016


My wife, Robin, and I at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello -- December 29, 2016

For the past twenty years, cycling has, in one form or another, been a part of my life.  But even this has changed drastically over the years.  The bikes I ride, choice of attire, frequency, duration, distance, and company all have changed. (Wow....great material for later on!)  None of it has ever stayed the same.  A lot of the change has come from choice...some from necessity...but it always precedes some new, and sometimes great, adventure.  Over the years I've realized that, what ever change may come, the way it impacts your life is your own internal choice.  None of us has the power to prevent it, but we all can decide whether or not we will embrace it.  So, whether it's the change of seasons, a change of routine, a change in what ice cream shop we go to after a ride, a change in our job, or a life change that is out of our control...the cycle of change is ultimately like a bike.  You've got to ride it to go somewhere.

Life is a journey, not a destination.



David A. Raymond -- October 24, 2016

One thing that doesn't change...I love dropping in on my son at Subway.  He's Manchester's best (and most intense) Sandwich Artist -- October 23, 2016