Copyright © 2011 by Ralph Couey
September 15th.
Man, wasn’t it August just 20 minutes ago? Time is absolutely flying by these days, and for once I can’t blame it on my busy life. I am busy, but the kind of busy that usually causes the clock and calendar to shift to warp speed. This may that part of growing older that I’ve read about, that as the years pile up, the days seem to move much faster.
But whether I want it to or not, September is officially half over. October, my favorite time of year is rapidly approaching. It’s the one month of the year that I wish would slow down, take its time and drift languidly through its 31-day lifespan. But as usually happens, there is a significant gap between what I want, and what actually is.
The heat and humidityof summer has finally left us here in the mountains. The first breaths of cool air have blown down from Canada, and we are now in that time of year when weather shifts wildly and sometimes rapidly. Two days ago, it was warm, humid, and still. Tonight, we will have our first frost of the season. This does create difficulties in dressing one’s self, especially for motorcycling.
In the mornings, I install the zip-in liners in jacket and pants, and don a sweatshirt for one more layer. I put on my heavy gloves and take off for work. The air is chilly, especially on the hands and feet, and with the shortening daylight, the commute is now done in the gray half-light of dawn. On my mind also is that this is the time of year when deer become active, and I must be extremely vigilant as I travel. But while the daylight lasts, the ride is spectacular. In another three weeks or so, the leaves will start dressing themselves in their Technicolor hues and the mountainsides will become iridescent. The sky will lose its milky shade and turn a spectacular vivid blue. The sunlight, freed from summer’s haze, will make all nature’s colors starkly beautiful.
