Growing up in Alberta, our falls were unremarkable. There was little variation in the changing colors of the leaves – a lot of yellow, brown, and if we were lucky, splashes of orange. Autumn never lasted long either, with strong winds coming off the mountains, the trees were completely bare within a couple of weeks. It was my favourite season for so many reasons and then disappointing for others.

When we knew that we wanted to take a short break from travel and settle in North America during that time, we were really excited when this opportunity in Michigan came up for one significant reason – the pure artistry of a midwestern fall.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower ~ Albert Camus

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter. ~ Carol Bishop Hipps

Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree. ~ Emily Bronte

Autumn wins you best by this, its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay. ~ Robert Browning