Today is the fall equinox as the Sun crosses the equator and heads south. Days are shorter, shadows are longer, the air no longer tropical. Migratory birds have taken wing as squadrons of Canadian geese check their visas and go south.
We haven't seen a hummingbird for about a week now. Like clockwork, they are off to their destinations in Mexico and Central America. It is amazing those little zip darts can fly that far.
Hopefully, they will be allowed back into the United States next spring.
My wife and I joke that we are now of the age where sitting on our deck watching the hummers dive bomb each other is our primary form of summer amusement. In their absence, I guess our new entertainment will be our substantial squirrel population: the grays versus the blacks versus the reds. Daily, non-stop drama. Hmmm... maybe that will be the subject of a future post?
Yeah, we live a simple life.
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| An empty feeder and an empty hummingbird swing means summer is over. |
It is easy to overlook autumn because those delicious summer days and soothing summer nights are gone and another brutal winter lies ahead. Yet in a way, fall is an anticipatory season. Those first white flakes are not far away and my son once said he really looks forward to that.
"Why?' I asked him.
"I guess it is because I haven't seen snow in a while," was his thoughtful answer.
Even though autumn can be a very short season, it is actually my favorite. The confetti colors, the smell of wood smoke drifting from chimneys, the crisp air, hot apple cider, brittle leaves crunching under foot and sunflowers in bloom.
Oh, and football season!
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| A bright-eyed sunflower on our deck. We planted it this spring. A sure sign of fall. |
So here's to autumn and the memories of summer.
...and to hummingbirds. Come back soon, guys.