Welcome to September, there’s been a chill in the morning

The days are growing shorter. Now when I go for a walk in the evening the sun is nearly gone by 7:30. The squirrels are in hyperdrive—thus, more of them flattened in the road. The deer, too, are out. I see family groups grazing in an out of the way couple of streets across from Cornell Woods Elementary. In the mornings the air is crisper, a bit of a tingle to the nose and when I start off there’s always the question: Should I put on gloves? as I ride up an incline to get out of my complex. Once on my way, there are dead leaves, brown from the summer, not quite the autumnal turn, but plenty of them on the path leading down to Dobie Road.

More than all this, there is a sense that summer is winding down, a frantic hurry to get things done: bike rides, swims, rafting trips. And, as always, the self-doubt—Did I do enough? Did I squeeze the season for everything of worth? Did I live my life the best I could?

There is certainly no going back, no re-arrangement, only a perseverance to live in the moment, the now.

Sleeping Bear Dunes