There's a whisper of Fall in the air. ~Just a whisper.~ The air is still infused with Summer humidity. The breeze is still filled with myriad various butterflies and dragonflies dancing on the wing from Petunia to Buddleia to Lantana. They look as though they are unaware that Autumn is about to pounce.
Kids are back to school. Leaves are crisp and falling. Many new and some old familiar varieties of apples are beginning to appear at the market. An early crop of pumpkins and colorful, twisty, warted gourds are making their debut as well. Thoughts of weeding garden beds and planting perennials have turned to choosing Autumn bulbs and raking leaves.
The rainy season has arrived, yet sometimes its hard to tell if those storm clouds are ahead of a Summer tropical system or a Fall cold front. Just stick your head out the door or your nose out the nearest window to become your own meteorologist. You'll probably do as well as they do! Raincoat?, thongs?, sweater?, boots? Open the windows - close the windows... air conditioning, ...not! Its warm then cool, its humid then dry, its windy then still. Give it a minute... it'll change! On second thought, better listen to the professionals!
Cuckoos have not yet arrived to dine on Tent Caterpillars and immature Cardinals are patchwork quilts of brown, red and olive. Camellia buds are receiving their innate messages to get ready for the big show. Some summer shrubs are still sleepily shooting small but persistent blooms. Few vegetable garden plants remain, giving their gifts of love. No one told them to stop! So, the Basil continues on, and on and shares a bed with a now shriveled vine of plump beige-y Butternut squash.
Yes, there's a whisper of Fall and a thunder bolt of Summer. Then a whiff of crushed Autumn leaves and a beautiful flutter of Eastern Black Swallowtail wings. The Catbirds and possibly the Hummingbirds have left and its time for the Northern Robins to start travelling through on their way back up North.
Confused? I think not. Perhaps oblivious. Most people do not even notice the changing of seasons. It is definitely more of a blending than a change. My advise... enjoy the dichotomy. Savor the gifts of both. In fact, savor every minute, every delicious second of the time you spend out in Nature.
