Summering & Falling

Summer is still clinging but the bright Harvest Moon reminds us that Autumn is near. There is still heat to be had here but it comes and goes. Hopefully there are still days left to canoe a shallow creek (a little rain could make this more possible). A few of the last wildflowers are flaunting their colors before the trees take center stage.


Thistle

Creeping Cypress bloom



Some variety of Goldenrod

But already you can see Autumn's colors and forms taking shape. The skeletal remains of black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's lace, the silhouettes of spider silk, the crisp and slanting light of autumn has taken over the summer haze. Of course, I'm ready. Always falling for Autumn well before it is here or even near. I think it is the shortest of all seasons here in the Midwest. Technically they are a quarter of a year but Autumn is brief. Normally Summer seeps into its beginning and Winter eats its tail. Perhaps that is why I love it best of all: I never get enough.

I spy falling leaves of yellow from the Walnut trees

Queen Anne's lace - a decadent decay



Cicada Exoskeleton