The meaning of life

It’s been awhile since I have run into Stella, the Women on the Bench who sits along the bike trail.
I always enjoy the knowledge and wisdom about nature that she discusses with me. This past week I got a nice 20-mile bike ride on the Yough River Trail and there she was sitting on one of the benches. She always waves and asks me about the weather and this leads to discussion on nature and the beauty of the changing seasons.
I remember a few years ago when I first met her how she told me about the colors in the leaves being present all season and that in the spring and summer the chlorophyll produces so much green that it hides the other colors until the shortening days of fall and the cooler temperatures allow the green to fade and the vibrant colors of fall to dominate.
A ride on our back roads or the bike trail is beginning to show some patches of color especially the maples which had a bit of a struggle during the mini-drought in May and June.
Stella asked me if I had seen the fields of wildflowers that are currently gracing our roadsides and open fields. She especially liked the yellow Golden Rod (Solidago) and told me that there are over 100 different species and they are all part of the Aster family.
After the dry spell we did have ample rains in July and August and this has helped with the wildflower bloom. She did express her sadness over all the signs that are being placed illegally on our roads especially the political signs. These folks should know better.
Since Stella knows about my weather background she asked about the coming of the cooler days. By the end of October the sunsets at 6:18 p.m. and she does not like the shorter time to be outside enjoying all the beauty of autumn. Temperatures fall off from a low of 48 and a high of 71 on the 1st day of October to a low of 38 and a high of 62 by month’s end. We lose 10 degrees.
Records are a high of 95 and a low of 16. Frost usually waits until mid- October, however in 1959 it came on the morning of September 17th and in 1994 father frost did not arrive until November 11th. Rainfall averages 2.75 inches however in 1964 Hurricane Carol dumper 4.60 inches in one day as it travelled through the Middle Atlantic region.
As for snow most years we don’t see any or just a few flurries near the end of the month. A coating appeared on roof tops, cars and grassy areas back on the 3rd in 1974 and some may remember the Halloween snow of 1993 that left several inches of snow in Uniontown and 9 inches in the mountains.
As it was time to leave, Stella reminded me to encourage readers to enjoy but respect our home, planet earth. She is saddened at the way some care so little for our home and she is encouraged how others are showing an awareness and appreciation for where we live. As I rode down the bike trail I had a wonderful sense of the beauty of life and all that it has to offer. Life is about love. Love of Nature and all of humanity. Thanks Stella.