Big trees and great expectations

Last year I waited all year to see the poplar in the parking lot with its fall appearance.

A majestic plant, full of life, with large leaves that take on a thousand shades of yellow, transforming into gold with the reflections of the setting sun.

I imagined the photos I was going to take, the perfect framing, the grazing light, the contrast with the shadows on the dark branches, the best times to have the light but not too many people around.

The end of summer was marked by a very dry September, followed by a too hot and extremely rainy October, a real nightmare for foliage lovers.

The leaves of the great poplar tree became first spotted, then diseased, and finally fell en masse with the first breath of wind into a soggy, unhealthy heap.

No slow transformation, no warm, golden reflections, no romantic falling one leaf at a time, while breathing in the first cold, changing airs, and no photos.

Autumn has passed, so has winter, but I have not yet accepted this delusion.

This is more or less what happened in 2023, a year full of expectations, with results very different from what we had expected.

Looking at the work accomplished, the opportunities missed, all the energy spent it is difficult to accept a completely different result.

But different doesn't necessarily mean worse, sometimes you just need to change your perspective to see things differently and get back on the path with new energy.

A ray of sunlight filtering through the clouds, a reflection on the branches wet by the rain, a different geometry full of beauty, a puddle to jump into like children, a golden sky. A little more time to think, and there you go.

Winter passes, and this rainy spring, which doesn't give me much satisfaction, turns out to be full of beauty.

I look at the new leaves of this great plant, I face the disappointment of what I wanted, and I look in appreciation of the beauty of what I have before me.

Ready to set off again towards new great expectations.