Prior to my daily walk, I poured a glass of Makulu Iswithi Pinotage. Why? Well, it was time to do so.

I hadn’t seen a wine from South Africa for awhile and upon purchasing it, I couldn’t wait to “taste” that country again. I like the wines from that part of the world and I really enjoy Pinotage so, along with my lunch, I savored a glass of that wonderfully medium/full bodied red wine.

I knew my fall walks were soon coming to an end and I celebrated the fall of fall with this nice current and vanilla tasting wine. The finish is dry and yet, it begs you to come back for more. Like the roses I saw that day.

Thomas Moore wrote a poem to those last days of summer by noting the last roses of summer:

“Tis the last rose of summer, Left blooming alone, All the lovely companions are faded and gone…”

The poem is a heartfelt rendering on how fast things disappear from us and how important it is for us to be in the moment — see things around you, smell things around you and, always, always feel life. That’s why I had to have my Pinotage — to see it, to smell it and to feel is hearty softness.

I’ll miss the multitude of colors of summer as I’ll miss the soon to be lost gorgeous colors of fall and as I was on my daily walk, I saw both endings.

I, and I expect all of us, deeply like the colors of fall. As those colors present themselves, we know the beauty of summer is lapsing and it’s a wonderful time to experience.

As I strolled through a park, I was greeted by a dying rosebush, and on it there were a couple bundles of mini roses still showing their colors. As I viewed those little roses, I commented that these were the last roses of summer. For a few minutes, I just stood there and enjoyed those bits of color and was reminded that the times they are a-changing!

Then I continued my walk into the fall colors and noted even they were getting fainter. Times were moving fast — before we know it, Old Man Winter will visit us and bless us with a nice coating of white stuff. Of course, it will get cold — but that’s life here!

Later that weekend, I had a final glass from a bottle of Cleto Chiarli Lambrusco — a very fine wine from Italy. As the bottle emptied, I was once again reminded of those last roses of summer. I’ll wait to have this mildly acidic and melon tasting wine until next spring.

The exciting thing about seasonal changes is that you get introduced again to the upcoming seasons givings.

A few days ago I was walking a new street and came across a little bush that was still brilliant green and it had bright red berries on it. I couldn’t come up with the name of the bush and turned to my daughter-in-law’s mother who knows horticulture for identification.

I took a picture of the bush and sent it to her. A day later she informed me the bush was a Winter Berry and my thoughts immediately ran to the colors of December. I hoped the bush and berries would still be around in a month or so. Wouldn’t it be cool — with proper permission — to cut a couple of small branches from the bush and use them for holiday decorations? They would be the real amongst so many false things.

Upon arriving home, I unscrewed a bottle of Starling Castle Gewürztraminer — a go with everything white wine from Germany. It’s on the sweet side but carries enough tannin to not get overly sweet and it’s a joy to taste. I decided that the wine on our Thanksgiving dinner table would be this nice German beverage. It never stops blooming for me.

You know … life is like the seasons. As one part of your life fades, another new part begins to offer beauty and hope.

A few days after stopping by that before mentioned rose bush, I purposefully went to see the bush again. The last rose of summer was gone.

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!