Mid September

The light slants in from a different angle, lower in the sky. Sundown arrives earlier, sunrise later. The nights and mornings are cool. During the day summers heat has given way to mild warmth. As I bike home from the gym in the morning children with backpacks fill the sidewalks and crosswalks on their way to school, their long summer vacations over. Along the underside of the trees which shade the street, where sunlight no longer penetrates, the leaves have begun their annual metamorphose. They start to turn the dusty yellows, oranges and reds, the soft hues that are the hallmark of a midwestern fall. They turn the colors of the freshly harvested gourds found in supermarket aisles and at roadside farmstands. They are calming and soothing, allowing us to take a few final deep breaths before the onset of winter.