The upcoming Labor Day weekend reminds me that summer is coming to an end. After enduring the hottest summer since we began to keep records of such things, I am ready to move on. There are signs everywhere that the season is soon to change. The slant of the earth in its current rotation around the sun causes a beam of sunlight to sneak in a corner of the window next to my chair. It blinds me as I try to read my evening newspaper. When I look out a different window I see a neighborhood squirrel going back and forth across a telephone wire. He always has a nut in his mouth. On my sidewalk and patio I find little piles of shells from nuts that squirrels have cracked open. In various places in my back yard there are signs of small animals burrowing. The mornings are cooler and the days are shorter. Occasionally I see a leaf falling from a tree and wafting in the air. I am ready for autumn. It is my favorite time of the year. I love the cooler weather, the transformation of leaves into a multi-colored palette of natural beauty. I love the smell of wood burning in fireplaces. I love my annual trip to the pumpkin fields of Huber’s Orchard with my granddaughter. Most years I make an autumn trip to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains. I enjoy the spirit that’s in the air as the end of the year holidays roll around one more time. Ironically, in a time when nature is dying, I feel more alive. I am energized by the annual dying of nature and the long sleep of winter. I am happy to live in a part of the world where the seasons change.
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