September

The month of September is upon us. It is a bittersweet month...a time of new beginnings and partings and promises made.

It is the time of harvest. The shadows are lengthening; fruit hangs heavy on the vines and there is a certain feel in the Wind. One that reminds me to take my sweater when I go out, even if the weather forecast promises no rain in sight.

Bree and I and Danielle, Bree's friend, went clothes shopping last week. I marvelled over the differences this year as compared to last with these girls...there is such a great leap in maturity. They are pre-teens now...Danielle, a year older than Bree, is taller than I am.

The girls handle themselves well in those hyper-frantic stores. On the day we went shopping, it seems every store had a huge sale; they were filled to bursting with young girls discarding clothes...and then finding just the right one, only to discover it was the wrong size!

September is the time for new clothes, new books and pencils, a new grade in school, and new activities for children. And as I mature, September continues to be the time for new beginnings, where there is delight and apprehension mixed at the changes that are becoming apparent as the season turns.

September's Moon dominates the night sky...it is heavy and golden, hanging like a heavy ornament from the sky's velvet background. It has rarely rained this past summer and the earth is parched and waiting. Garden plants are showing the signs of true drought, here in the Rain Forest.

As I sit on the stoop in the evening's twilight, watching the Moon's laborious rise over the trees, I smell the cooling earth, trying to regenerate itself after another hot, dry day. Branches of the conifer trees hang weightless, seeming to conserve energy. If Wind is just right, moisture comes in from Ocean a few blocks away, giving the arid land a small consolation.

Colours of Autumn are showing up everywhere. The cool nights are enabling the deciduous trees' leaves to turn. Along with the wonderful reds and golds, some of the leaves are brown and scorched, signifying the dry conditions. Chrysanthemums lift their tawny, lion-like blossoms to the sun. Echinacea's deep pink becomes unearthly in the mellow, evening light. Hydrangea, looking tired this year, still displays blossoms of deep lavender and pink and blue...a kaleidoscope of color.

It is a time of sometimes startling beauty. A New Dawn Rose, with the morning dew still on its petals, a perfectly ripe tomato, a late Raspberry quivering on the end of its cane, the reddest sunset...all of Nature's glory displayed, just for the taking!

September swells and builds, like a saxophone's endless note, bringing promise of transitions and new beginnings.