After an extra-toasty summer, we now have - still more summer. And with a train of tropical storms rolling across the Atlantic, predictable weather remains over the horizon. Still, September's dawn offers a dream sure to be fulfilled.
There will be golden days to savor, with shows of asters and chrysanthemums. Autumn's arrival will set leaves to dancing. Our calendar puts the closing of summer on the equinox, Sept. 23 this year, but the doors of autumn fully open only when nature's timepiece reminds its creations that it's time to begin the gradual shutdown of chlorophyl - and all hands prepare for a long winter nap.
Already, in far northern lands and atop the higher mountains, autumn is beginning to show her face. And everywhere, September brings an awareness of fast-shortening days and lengthening nights. Birds gather in the fields and along power lines, testing their flight feathers as migratory instincts awaken.
