Saturday, October 01, 2005

The Setting and the Signs

I am sitting at my computer writing. All my windows are open and a slight, comforting breeze is blowing in. The breeze is warm, but not hot.

The Alabama vs. Florida football game is on the radio. Alabama is off to a great start even though sensible Auburn fans such as I should be pulling for Florida.

A squirrel can be heard busily crunching and cracking the seeds from the dogwood tree outside my window. I looked over beyond my computer and the squirrel is hanging vicariously upon the end of those narrow and slender branches to enjoy what food this time of year offers.

The neighbor’s dog is paranoid and occasionally barks at unforeseen threats. I sometimes bark back to cajole him into a fit of distemper. It is a little game we play often. I think he enjoys it as do I. He rushes to the fence to see where this possible threat could be coming from.

Thus sets the setting for a southern Saturday at my home in the fall.

The days are certainly growing shorter and the long shadows that are cast by the afternoon sun depress me. I dread winter with a passion lately and do not look forward to that first “real” cold front that will bring cooler weather. Those subtle changes in light and shadow are very keenly felt by me in this time of the year.

This morning, as I smoked pipe outside, I heard the first crow calls of the season. As summer wanes, they fly into the city from the countryside seeking better opportunities. They are rapacious little birds and very opportunistic. I once saw a crow take a starling mid-flight and wrote about it on my previous blog. Their calls were another sure sign that cooler weather is on the way.

Winter; I do not welcome your coming, but you come none-the-less. I shall relish these last few days of green trees and warm air. That bland and brown winter landscape is soon to follow. A drop in my humor and mood is soon to follow as well.

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