There was no mistaking which shelf in the closet I needed to reach for this morning. For the first time in months I reached over the one with summer shorts, and pulled down a pair of jeans. As the winds buffeted the house all last night a change had taken place. After a warm and sunny Sunday (at least most of it) came the cold and dampness of fall. Summer shorts had given way to reality. This is just the beginning I thought. In two months this weather will feel balmy in comparison.
Saturday I had mowed the lawn, and James helped spruce up the yard. But Monday morning the leaves from the neighborhood seemed to have become very attracted to our short grass and flower beds. I do not mind the leaves at all. In fact, they are one of the things I most love about fall. If there is a sidewalk free of leaves, but a lawn loaded with them, I am prone to walking just a foot off the cement to rustle them along the way. The noise is soothing, and if you are in the right neighborhoods with lots of trees the ground clutter just never ends. As I looked about the lawn this morning I thought back to a condo association I had lived near that had ground crews blowing leaves off lawns as soon as they fell. That was a far cry from how most of us who grew up in the country knew it to be as kids. Leaf raking and removal took place after the majority of the leaves had left the branches. But until then the leaves were to be enjoyed as they blew about the yard into wind-swept mounds. I still just think it somehow proper to let leaves clutter to the point where huge sized piles can be raked.
As I looked outside this morning I noticed a bunny scamper across the lawn and go to the place where I knew it had lived all summer. There where the day lilies had once bloomed amid lots of green vegetation, sat the bunny, among the short stubs of the plants that had now been trimmed. So much for his protection. I could tell he was not amused. It had been the perfect place to hide from whatever might have frightened him. And in spite of all my harsher comments about bunnies that was the spot I threw food for him most days. I knew he lived there, and I felt if I fed him he would leave the other plants alone. Believe it or not, he kept to his end of the bargain. Minus the clover…..
We bought some bulbs this weekend to plant, and trust that we do so with enough cleverness to not have them dug up by squirrels in their seemingly never-ending quest for food. The colored flowers on the box are great for advertising, but it seems unfair that gardeners need to wait seven months to see the blooms. Lets face it, after a long hard Wisconsin winter even a shade of gray would be welcome as long as it had green leaves. With this attitude of mine it might seem I am not eager for the change of seasons.
In fact I love the four seasons, and that is why Wisconsin is one of the special states in which to live. But after a July that was too cool I think we were cheated a bit on summer. I still think we should have some more days to drink, as the radio ad implores us, “another pitcher of Country Time Lemonade”.
And could we do that in summer shorts please!
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
Your lament at the loss of Summer reminds me of something I read:
JUST WHEN THE CATERPILLAR THOUGHT THE WORLD WAS OVER, SHE BECAME A BUTTERFLY!
Like all good seasons, Summer will come again. Embrace the Fall and all it’s beauty. The leaves have been working on their colors for you all year.