A  tricolor leaf on a sandy pathway signals change. It’s arrived much too soon, this autumn leaf that rests by itself on sun baked sand. I ignore its message as I make my way around it. My lunch in one hand, and a folding beach chair in the other, I wish that summer would stay awhile. But the truth is, I’ve noticed days growing shorter and nights a little cooler. I hear back-to-school chatter and discover stores filled with enticing note books, pencils, and flower-shaped erasers. Leaves change color as they react to the environment around them, shedding the green of summer to reveal colors that have been there all along. Who can judge which is more beautiful?