Autumn

I first noticed it on Sunday. As I was driving home from Wichita, I looked across the flint hills and said to myself “the trees are changing colors!” It was a sudden thought that left me speechless—which is not a big deal since I was alone. Looking back on it, the reason it hit me so hard was the memory of Indiana in the fall. The drive on Sunday was not like IN-124/US-24/IN-25 but it reminded me of B-town :)

Kansas really has quite a few trees. I have noticed more and more of them. Kansas also has some pretty shrubs that have a deep red color. As you look across the hills, the bottoms have green cedars intermingled with yellow deciduous trees. On the sides of the hills are clumps of shrubs—red and pretty. It is a good time to drive across Kansas.

I saw a drop-dead-gorgeous field of sorghum yesterday. The field was about 15 acres surrounded by trees. It was very deep red in color, about four feet in height, and ready to be harvested. It was really clean and not lodging. It served as the front porch view of our former department head (who happens to be a Purdue alumnus). It was beautiful.