Signs of Autumn

Autumn is in our thoughts, though summer remains in our hearts. August 7th marks the start of a journey through one of our four major seasons: the small season, the Beginning of Autumn. Despite the sun, despite the heat, autumn has arrived. If you look closely, the signs reveal themselves. Here are a few examples I have found that autumn has indeed arrived in my neck of the woods:

• The sunflowers are blooming: slow to grow, high to reach, a sunflower seed planted naturally in the spring (not forced in a hothouse) will have been taking its time all year. Now, the flowers reveal themselves one by one. Their glory will continue on for several weeks. The sunflower connects late summer with early autumn.

• The sumac begins to turn: A flash here, a flush there; the wild sumac trees of the Northeast will turn brilliant colors as fall deepens. Yet, even now, their characteristic shaggy foliage begins to signal the change with glimpses of orange, red, and scarlet.

• The crickets are singing: June and July were noticeably silent in the underbrush, but now the crickets’ gentle hum forms the background music to our lives. At first, their chorus only began in the evening. Now, the crickets murmur unceasingly from the tall grasses.

• The purple loosestrife begins to bloom: in the Northeast, the bright purple vertical splashes of the loosestrife begin to appear at this time of year. Although it is an invasive, I find it undeniably lovely. It adds a refreshing relief to the sunbaked, golden scenery.

• It’s blackberry season: worth the wait, these berries of later summer and early autumn are a complex, indulgent delight. If a shadow could shine and wink, such would be a blackberry on the bramble.