Wednesday, September 2, 2009

September

The summer is winding down. The angle of the sun is lower and the days are shorter and the light is golden. August was so exceptionally cool that September slipped in almost unnoticed but I want to proclaim it's arrival:

September is here!!! The high-schoolers walk past my house to the campus a block away. I heard the marching band practicing on the field early in the morning and the first football game over the loud speaker in the evening. My neighbor's sweet gum is, as always, the first tree in town to change colors, tempting the others to follow. I watch the lively finches gorge themselves greedily on the herbs that I let go to seed, tipping the stems almost to the ground as they feast. Open the windows and drink in the sweet ripening air. Drape the quilt over the porch railing. Take my coffee out on to the porch and sit a spell. It never lasts long enough for me.

October signals the dying of the year. Endings, not beginnings. But September is still mild and hopeful, life sustaining. The garden doesn't need tucking in yet nor do I bring in the plants. But I get an urge to "nest," gathering sticks and twigs. Renewed energy to clean house and rearrange the furniture. Must be some primal urge to "gather in" before the winds of winter blow.

I'm expecting a houseful of guests for the weekend. Perfect. No worries about adequate air conditioning or what to do with extra people because the weather will be fine and we can spread out over the house and grounds. And did I mention that it's also my birthday month? And my sister is coming to celebrate because she shares my birthday? And my mother and grandmother both had September birthdays. And my two best friends have birthdays in September, too. It really is the best time of the year.