Mother Nature’s Third Act

It’s been a hot dry summer.  This is the third summer in a row with hotter and drier weather than normal.  While I enjoyed the weeks of sun, my garden, my yard and my psyche began to suffer.   I wanted rain and I wanted lots of it.

Well, the rain came, and along with it came Fall.  Autumn started this week.  I love Fall.  It’s my favorite time of the year.

Fall is like the third act of a four-act play.  All of the characters, all of the excitement, all of the action becomes more animated just before the fourth act and the finale.  That describes Fall fairly well.   It’s colorful, its exciting and it’s a prelude to the end.

The trees have started to turn and soon will spread their color over the ground.  The Big Leaf Maple has piled its droppings in brown patterns all over the lawn while the Flowering Plum’s purple leaves contrast with the dark green of my neighbors lawn.

Soon the daffodils will start peeking their heads up thinking that spring is here when the sun makes a last few futile efforts to stop from becoming irrelevant.   The dahlias and the roses  have  a few colorful blooms, but even those are beginning to wilt and sensing the shortening of the days.  The marigolds still have some yellow color but the brown of rotted petals can be seen more often on the tall stems while the smell of those rotted flowers carry several feet.

Someone in the neighborhood has put out a sack of peanuts for the squirrels and they roam the area at will, digging and planting their fall harvest for the winter, not caring that they are disturbing the Tulip bulbs just planted a few days ago.   The loose soil easily dug.

Down by the lake, a handful of Canadian geese are still roaming the shoreline looking for handouts, content to stay put and not migrate south with the rest of the clan.  Their clucking and honking can be heard over the sounds of the lawn mowers of those few souls who feel the need to cut the grass one more time.

I’m content to stay inside and venture out only for my daily walk, secure in the feeling that the Third Act is the best act of all.  Knowing that an early Fall is a joy and a bonus.