The One October Day

Every year there comes a day in October when you know both Summer and Indian Summer have said there goodbyes.  Today was that day for the mid-Atlantic U.S.

Daybreak revealed layered clouds driven hurriedly across the sky, their tattered edges falling away like strings of cotton candy settling into the treetops.

The air was heavy with  mist that muffled sound and left beading droplets on every surface, an endless moisture too light to be called rain yet too prevailing to leave automobile windshield wipers at rest.

Throughout the day temperatures slipped lower in barely measurable increments, but enough that for the commute home I was glad for the heat circulating in the car.

Even dinner planning was affected by the slate sky and permeating damp. Options such as hearty soup, chili, and  dumplings all held appeal.

Yes, it's time to bundle up, hunker down, batten the hatches, and lay in firewood. The summer of '17 now joins memories of other summers past.

Leaves of Opportunity

Looking at the leaves that have begun to pepper the back yard I find myself thinking back to childhood.  A time when fallen leaves were not a chore but an opportunity.  An opportunity to launch myself into a pile of reds, yellows, and browns.  An opportunity to fell rough edges tickle at the back of my neck and sneak their way down inside my shirt. An opportunity to stare up at blue sky and puffy clouds from a crackling pile.

And I find myself thinking it is long past time for me to give myself up to carefree abandonment again.