Autumn Splendor: Around the world in a fall frame of mind

Autumn arrives in the northern hemisphere. Here, Norway's 

gentle slopes and hills resemble parts of Montana.

FIND BEAUTY IN THE INEVITABLE CHANGE OF SEASONS

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. “– Albert Camus

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

The grass was just beginning to turn as autumn began

earlier this month with Cookie and Keller in the Netherlands.

WE LOVE to travel in autumn.

The kids are back in school, the evening air is crisp and cool. There's something about autumn that makes us appreciate being alive. Perhaps it's the leaves falling, snows coming, change in the air. The combination makes us grateful.

We in the northern hemisphere call it fall: the shedding of leaves from deciduous trees.

Autumn is around the corner. If you believe the chill in the air, the need for a fire and the disappearance of the hummingbirds from the northern Rockies, it's fall already.

Those vivid colors – the transition from green to light yellow, deep gold, orange, crimson and dark red – are inspiring, yet bittersweet.

On a fall pilgrimage to

southern Spain last fall.

The balmy nights of summer and hot days of July and August are a sweet memory.  We see 

The hollyhocks were late this year.  This one was

photographed two days ago.  Its many buds may not bloom.

grass growing golden, smell the sweet smoke of controlled burning and regret that summer flew by so quickly.

Autumn came early to these trees

on the West Fork of the Stillwater.

 Falling leaves and the colors of the season have fascinated writers and poets for centuries. One of my favorite writers, Albert Camus, had a soft spot in his heart for fall.  Skeptical about many things, he was sentimental about fall and embraced autumn above the

Autumn grass and a pair of strolling bison

in Yellowstone National Park last week.

Cookie takes time out to

admire a lemon tree rich

with autumn fruit in Crete.

other seasons. He defined the human condition as absurd, and struggled to understand the conflict between man's desire for meaning and clarity and what he called "the silent, cold universe" on the other.  Apparently he found warmth and meaning in fall when he wrote, "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is awakened."

WE MAKE an annual fall pilgrimage to Yellowstone National Park, Teddy Roosevelt's finest gift to the country and the world.  In autumn, it shines like a well loved tiara. Wildlife watching is prime.  We were thrilled to hear the elks' high-and-low pitch changing bugling. Musical mating calls in symphonic splendor. Haunting and memorable.

Engineer-poet-lecturer Stanley Horowitz has an autumn take I love: "Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.” My vow: to embrace autumn, invite it into my orbit. Please join me.

The canals of Amsterdam are legendary, in this city below sea level.

Here, we explore the waterways near the Anne Frank House.

NEXT UP: Appealing Amsterdam.  Next week we begin a lively three-part look at one of the world's most engaging, progressive cities. We take you to  Amsterdam's canals and windmills, famous cafes and coffee shops, the red light district, and the famous hotel suite occupied by John Lennon and Yoko Ono 50 years ago during their "Peace In." Finally, a rijsttafel feast, that wondrous concoction of many small courses brought to Holland during its sailing years in Indonesia. Remember to explore, learn and live and catch us Fridays for a fresh spin on travel, the arts, nature, family, food and more.  Go to whereiscookie.com ; iamsterdam.com (official website of the city)