The grip of summer has finally loosened here in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California, and not a moment too soon. When it shifted it did so in a hurry. A high of 98 Tuesday ceded 20 degrees on Wednesday. When we moved here ten years ago we were told things cooled down noticeably from summer's baking heat in September. That was welcome since even though the summer is hotter here than we experienced in Southern California, the heat typically lasted longer down there. Ask anybody from Socal and they'll confirm September is the year's hottest month. Well, it seems like it was up here this year as well. Good riddance, say I! Enough is enough!
I was out in the backyard early this afternoon, enjoying the ambiance. Bluebirds flitted and twittered in the trees. It was pleasant to be out. The lounge chairs beckoned. A few flying insects made their busy rounds, fascinating in their concentrated activity, seemingly aware they had but little time to lose before their hour glass runs out. As I closed my eyes I could hear more birds here and there from all around the neighborhood, calling, flapping, fluttering, pecking, lifting off, landing, lighting, chirping, and generally doing all those sometimes calm and sometimes frenetic things birds are wont to spend their time doing when they're not merely perching in torpor trying not to raise their body temperatures.
I was refreshed by the inviting clime, the fragrance of potted flowers and pine, the greenery of the star jasmine hedge and the beckoning hazy hulks of the Sierras to the east under wispy cirrus dabs giving scenic contrast if little shade. All was right with nature and I had been invited back in. Blessed weeks of fall! May they last and linger, gladdening the heart until the chill and gloom of winter assume their sway.
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