Walking along the BCAS Butterfly Garden path at Overpeck County Park, I was stopped in my tracks by a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly. It took me by great surprise. It was the end of September, not a good time to be an Adult Swallowtail, and unfortunately, this beauty was struggling on the ground.

I watched it try its best to get up and fly, but its struggle was to no avail. I carefully picked it up and placed this black and teal colored beauty on some nearby goldenrods in the hope that it would get some strength and live out its time in our garden. But I knew, as nature did, its time was very limited.

Our garden was now winding down; it was time for change. The spicebush took on the glow of the Goldenrods which framed the garden in a gilded light. The Asters stood tall, from the whites to purples and everything in-between. It was now the moment for the White Snakeroot and the Thoroughwort to greet the fall like the painting of an early snow. The swamp sunflower just now blooming as if to say the beauty of the garden is still very much here, just stop a while and take a look.

We made it through another summer together, no season ever the same, everyone different from the other, but always with the same inevitable change.   

Sometimes, making it through the seasons comes with personal loss. But even so, like nature it is joined together with  a brand new beginning,  and yet that is what nature is, always moving ahead, always changing, always bringing forth a new season and renewing life, no matter the circumstances of our life’s journey. Never sit on the sidelines, it is best to go along with her and take it all in and enjoy nature’s beautiful ride.

The last flowers of summer are the first flowers of fall, and eventually even they will become the browns, ambers and russets of winter that are nature’s life energy that will eventually bring on the spring. Yes, it will seem to some like nature has slowed down, but in reality nature is taking a long, deep breath, gaining strength for its time of rebuilding, renewing and rejuvenating itself. The Eagles will fly along our lakes and rivers, the canvasbacks with gather in the Meadowlands, and the Harriers will hunt the grasslands again.

 For us, it is a time to slow down just a bit. But that slower pace also makes it the best time to sit back, consider what is important, and connect with nature and each other once again. Since time and immemorial we have become part of nature’s change and ultimate renewal, just as the last flowers of fall and the first flowers of spring .

See you in the Meadowlands