August 7, 2026, was 立秋 — the Beginning of Autumn according to the traditional Chinese calendar.
I always find it interesting that 立秋 arrives while summer is still very much with us. The weather may remain warm, the garden may still be green, and there may be plenty of summer days ahead. Yet the Chinese calendar quietly tells us that we have crossed another seasonal line.
These past couple of days, I have started noticing more and more leaves scattered across the lawn.
It is nothing dramatic. There is no sudden transformation from summer to autumn. But if I pay attention, I can see small signs that the season is beginning to turn.
And those falling leaves made me think about something much bigger than autumn.
They made me think about time.
The garden has been growing while I was growing older
When we first moved into this bungalow, the trees just outside our backyard fence were quite small.
At the time, I never imagined how tall they would eventually become.
Today, those same trees are tall and strong. They have grown to almost the same height as our house.
When I look at them now, I sometimes find it hard to believe that they were once so young and small.
But that is how time works.
Trees grow quietly.
We don't notice their growth from one day to the next. Then one day we look up and realize that the little trees we once knew have become mature trees.
Perhaps people are like that too.
We don't notice ourselves changing every day. We wake up, have breakfast, go for a walk, do some work, talk with family, write something, and go to sleep.
Then one day we look back and realize that many years have passed.
The tree that was older than our memories
There was once a huge old tree in our yard.
According to the previous owner of the house, the tree was more than 100 years old.
Think about that for a moment.
A tree that had already been standing there for generations before we moved into the house.
It had seen countless summers and winters. It had watched children grow up, families come and go, and seasons change year after year.
For a long time, it was simply part of our backyard.
But eventually, the tree became diseased.
An arborist examined it and told us that its trunk had become rotten and that the tree could fall at any time. As much as we hated to lose such an old tree, safety had to come first.
So the old tree was removed.
I remember how strange the yard looked afterward.
When something has been part of your surroundings for many years, you don't realize how much space it occupies — not only physically, but also in your memory.
After it was gone, the backyard seemed different.
There was more sky.
There was more open space.
But there was also a feeling that a piece of history had disappeared.
When I was the gardener
There was another time in my life when I did almost all of the yardwork myself.
I mowed the lawn.
I trimmed the trees.
I worked in the garden.
And when winter came, I shoveled the snow.
Back then, I was much younger and had the stamina to do these things myself.
More importantly, I actually enjoyed the work.
There was something satisfying about looking at the lawn after mowing it, or seeing a tree after trimming its branches.
It was physical work, but it was also a connection with the home.
I wasn't simply maintaining a yard.
I was taking care of a place where our family lived.
I never thought of that work as part of a story.
It was simply everyday life.
Only now, many years later, do I realize that those ordinary days were quietly becoming memories.
The gardener has changed
Today, I have to admit something that is not always easy for an older person to admit.
I don't have the stamina I once had.
The gardening work that I used to enjoy has become much more demanding.
So for several years now, I have hired a gardening company to take care of the yard.
At first, perhaps I felt a little strange about giving up work that I had always done myself.
But getting older teaches us that there is a difference between giving something up and knowing when it is time to let someone else do it.
There is no shame in recognizing that our bodies have changed.
The important thing is to continue enjoying the garden even if we are no longer the person pushing the lawn mower.
Perhaps that is another lesson of growing older.
We don't have to stop caring.
Sometimes we simply have to change the way we care.
My garden is now a living calendar
Today, when I look around the backyard, I see more than grass, trees and flowers.
I see a timeline.
The young trees that were small when we arrived are now almost as tall as the house.
The enormous old tree catalpa that once dominated the yard is gone.
The lawn that I once mowed myself is now maintained by someone else.
And the grandfather who once spent hours doing yardwork now watches the garden from a different perspective.
The garden has changed.
And so have I.
That is why those few leaves on the lawn caught my attention this week.
They are small reminders that another season is beginning.
And perhaps they are also reminders that our own seasons of life keep moving forward.
An old YouTube video brings the past back
I have an old YouTube video that I created many years ago.
When I made that video, I wasn't thinking about preserving history.
I was simply recording a moment in my life.
But now, looking at it from the perspective of 2026, the video has become something much more valuable to me.
It is a time capsule.
The garden in that video is not exactly the garden I see today.
And I am certainly not the same person who made that video.
That is one of the wonderful things about photographs and videos.
We may create them without realizing their future value.
Years later, they allow us to meet our younger selves again.
We can see the places we lived, the things we did, and sometimes even the way we moved and spoke.
For an 80-year-old grandfather, that can be quite an emotional experience.
The trees teach me something
Standing in the backyard today, I sometimes think about those trees.
They never hurry.
They don't worry about how tall they should be next year.
They simply grow.
Year after year.
Season after season.
Some branches become stronger. Some eventually die and fall away. Sometimes an entire tree has to be removed.
But new growth continues.
Perhaps that is a good way for us to look at aging too.
Growing older is not simply about losing things.
Yes, we lose some physical strength.
We may no longer be able to do everything we once did.
Some people we knew are no longer with us.
Some trees disappear from the landscape.
But other things grow in their place.
Experience grows.
Memories grow.
Perspective grows.
And perhaps our appreciation for ordinary moments grows too.
Autumn is just beginning
The Chinese calendar says 立秋 has arrived.
The leaves on my lawn seem to agree.
But I am not ready to say goodbye to summer yet.
There will still be warm days. There will still be mornings when I sit with my coffee. There will still be time to walk, write, talk with family, and enjoy the garden.
But I will pay a little more attention now.
When I see another leaf fall, I may stop for a moment and look at the trees.
Those trees were small when we moved here.
Now they stand tall beside our home.
And perhaps one day, long after I am gone, someone else will look at those same trees and wonder about the people who once lived in this bungalow.
That thought doesn't make me sad.
It makes me grateful.
Because a home is more than bricks and walls.
A garden is more than grass and trees.
And a life is more than the number of years we have lived.
It is the collection of ordinary moments that quietly become our history.
This autumn, I think I will watch the leaves a little more carefully.
After all, they are telling me something I already know — but sometimes need to be reminded of:
Time flies swiftly.
And while it does, we should stop occasionally, look around, and appreciate where we are.
Grandpa
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立秋了，花園提醒我：時間過得真快
2026年8月7日，是二十四節氣中的「立秋」。
按照中國傳統曆法，立秋代表秋天開始。
雖然加拿大的八月仍然是夏天，天氣還會很溫暖，夏日也還沒有真正離開我們，但這幾天，我開始留意到草坪上出現了越來越多的落葉。
這些落葉很不起眼。
可是，它們卻讓我想起了一件很重要的事情：
時間真的過得很快。
花園一直在長大，而我也在慢慢變老
當年我們搬進這間平房的時候，後院圍欄外面的那些樹還很小。
那時候，我從來沒有想過，它們有一天會長得這麼高。
現在，那些樹已經長得又高又壯，幾乎和我們的房子一樣高。
有時候我站在後院，看著那些大樹，真的很難相信它們曾經是那麼小。
樹木的成長就是這樣。
我們每天都看著它們，卻不容易察覺它們每天的變化。
可是十年、二十年過去，再抬頭一看，才發現當年那些小樹，已經變成了高大的樹木。
人，其實也是一樣。
我們每天生活，看起來沒有什麼大變化。
吃早餐、喝咖啡、散步、做家務、寫文章、和家人聊天。
一天一天過去。
突然有一天回頭一看，才發現原來已經走過了這麼多年。
那棵超過百年的老樹
以前，我們的院子裡還有一棵非常巨大的老樹。
按照前任屋主的說法，那棵樹已經有超過一百年的歷史。
想想看，一百多年是一段多麼漫長的時間。
在我們搬進來之前，它已經站在那裡很多很多年了。
它經歷過無數個夏天和冬天，也看過許多家庭在這個社區生活。
可是有一天，我們不得不面對一個很難接受的決定。
樹木專家檢查後告訴我們，那棵老樹已經患病，樹幹也開始腐爛，而且隨時可能倒下。
為了安全，我們最後只能把它移除。
那棵樹消失以後，後院突然變得很不一樣。
天空好像變大了，院子也開闊了。
可是，我總覺得那裡少了一樣東西。
少了一段歷史。
那棵樹不只是院子裡的一棵樹。
它已經成為我們生活記憶的一部分。
年輕時，我就是家裡的園丁
回想起來，年輕的時候，我很喜歡自己做院子的工作。
割草，我自己來。
修剪樹木，我自己來。
整理花園，我自己來。
到了冬天，下雪了，我也自己鏟雪。
那時候，我比現在年輕得多，也有足夠的體力做這些工作。
而且我是真的享受這些工作。
割完草，看著整齊的草坪，心裡很有滿足感。
修剪完樹枝，看著院子變得乾淨整齊，也覺得自己做了一件有意義的事情。
那時候，我從來沒有想過，這些只是普通的日常工作。
更沒有想到，很多年以後，這些普通的日子會變成我珍貴的回憶。
現在，花園裡的「園丁」已經不同了
今天，我必須承認一件事情。
我的體力已經不像年輕時那麼好了。
以前覺得很輕鬆的園藝工作，現在做起來已經不是那麼容易。
所以這幾年，我們一直聘請園藝公司幫忙打理院子。
一開始，我心裡多少有一點不習慣。
以前都是自己做的事情，現在要交給別人。
但是年紀大了以後，我慢慢明白了一件事：
有些事情不是我們「不能做」了，而是我們應該知道什麼時候讓別人來做。
年紀大了，身體會改變。
體力會減少。
我們不能永遠用年輕時的標準要求自己。
但這並不代表我們不能繼續享受花園。
以前，我是那個推著割草機的人。
現在，我更多的是站在旁邊看看花園，看看樹木，看看季節的變化。
方式不同了，但我對這個家的感情並沒有改變。
花園，其實是一個活生生的日曆
現在回頭看，我發現我們家的花園不只是草、樹和花。
它其實是一個活生生的日曆。
那些當年還很小的樹，現在已經長得和房子差不多高。
那棵據說超過一百年的老樹，已經離開了我們。
我曾經每天自己割的草坪，現在由園藝公司負責。
而那個曾經有充足體力做所有院子工作的年輕人，也已經慢慢變成今天這個八十歲的爺爺。
花園變了，我也變了。
所以，這幾天看到草坪上的落葉，我特別有感觸。
它們好像在告訴我：
又一個季節開始了。
而我們的人生，也是一個又一個季節。
一段多年前的 YouTube 影片
很多年前，我曾經製作過一段 YouTube 影片。
當時製作這段影片的時候，我並沒有想到自己是在保存歷史。
我只是把當時的生活記錄下來。
可是多年以後，當我再次回頭看，那段影片突然變得非常珍貴。
它就像一個時間膠囊。
影片裡的花園，已經不是今天我看到的花園。
而影片裡的我，也已經不是今天的我。
這就是照片和影片最神奇的地方。
我們拍下它們的時候，可能只是覺得那是一個普通的日子。
多年以後再回頭看，才發現：
原來那就是我們的人生。
一段舊影片，可以讓今天的我重新遇見年輕時的自己。
可以讓我再次看到當年的花園、當年的樹，也可以讓我想起當年的生活方式。
對一個八十歲的爺爺來說，這是一件很有意思、也很感動的事情。
樹木教會我的一件事
站在後院，看著那些樹，我有時候會想：
它們從來不急著長大。
它們不會每天問自己：
「我明年一定要長高多少？」
它們只是安安靜靜地生長。
一年又一年。
一個季節又一個季節。
有些枝葉會長得更強壯。
有些枝條會枯萎。
有些老樹最後也會離開。
但新的生命仍然會繼續。
我覺得，人老了以後也可以用這樣的心態看待人生。
變老，不只是失去。
是的，我們會失去一些體力。
有些以前可以做的事情，現在不能再做了。
有些熟悉的人，也已經離開了我們。
甚至我們曾經珍惜的老樹，也可能有一天必須移除。
但是另一方面，我們也得到了一些年輕時沒有的東西。
**經驗增加了。
回憶增加了。
人生的體會增加了。
看事情的角度也不同了。**
也許這就是人生另一種形式的成長。
立秋，只是一個提醒
二十四節氣告訴我們，立秋到了。
草坪上的落葉，也好像在提醒我，季節正在慢慢改變。
可是，我還不想這麼快跟夏天說再見。
加拿大的八月還會有很多溫暖的日子。
我還可以繼續喝我的咖啡，繼續散步，繼續寫我的文章，繼續和家人聊天，也繼續看看我的花園。
只是從現在開始，我可能會更加留意那些樹。
那些樹在我們搬進來的時候還很小。
今天，它們已經高高地站在房子旁邊。
也許很多年以後，當我們已經不在這裡，有另一個人站在這個後院，看著這些樹，也許會想：
「以前住在這裡的人，是誰呢？」
想到這裡，我並不感到悲傷。
反而覺得很感恩。
因為一個家，不只是磚瓦和牆壁。
一個花園，也不只是草坪和樹木。
而一個人的人生，也不只是活了多少年。
人生，其實是由許許多多平凡的日子組成的。
那些看似普通的日子，最後會慢慢變成我們的歷史。
今年的秋天，我想我會更加留意那些落葉。
因為它們正在告訴我一件我其實早已知道、但有時候需要重新提醒自己的事情：
時間過得真快。
所以，在時間繼續向前走的時候，我們不妨偶爾停下來，看看身邊的人，看看自己的家，也看看那些陪伴我們走過歲月的樹木。
然後對自己說：
謝謝這一路走來的每一個季節。
—— Grandpa
