The Seasons Have Turned

The signs are subtle, but the seasons have turned toward fall, or from early summer to late summer if you will. What I think of as the fall flowers, the brown-eyed susans and variations of these, and the coneflowers, are out in the garden. The birds are much less noticeable; only a few common ones like the robins and goldfinch are still always about and singing. But the insects have started, cicadas calling from the tree tops, and crickets chirping in the long grass; they'll continue until the first heavy frost.


The hot weather has mostly broken, and we're getting the odd cooler day. And there's usually a heavy dew in the morning, enough that your shoes get wet as you walk through the grass. The sun seems to disappear behind the trees a little earlier in the evening, and even on the hot days the evenings are a little cooler. And in the morning the sunrise is definitely later, after 6 rather than what seemed like 4 a few weeks ago.


On the farms a second cut of hay is underway on some fields, and the long run of crop harvests has begun. It starts with the wheat harvest, and will move through all the other crops well into October. Here at our place the garlic has been brought in from the garden and is now all in the garage, drying.


After suffering through the extreme heat and humidity of July, I'm glad to get some cooler weather.