The long, slow march

Autumn, like its cousin Spring, arrives in increments to these parts. First, there are the obvious signs: school starts, football season begins, but the weather remains stubbornly hot and all the back-to-school clothes stay tucked away in drawers and hanging in closets, waiting for that perfect cool day when one can wear both a sweater and a skirt. Then one day, as you are driving through the intersection that you pass through every day at the same time, you notice the sunlight has changed. Are the shadows harsher? Is the air thinner? Are the sun's rays hitting the air at a new angle? Something is definitely different. And then, this morning, when I let the dogs out, I was hit with a short blast of cool 61°F air as I opened the back door. My mother, who lives across the street from an elementary school, said that all the kids were tardy today, undoubtedly because their parents were frantically trying to find jackets for them. Autumn hasn't really arrived yet, but it is definitely creeping into town.

::: Happy Birthday, Big Omi! :::