I’ve noticed that everybody uses Labor Day as some sort of line of delineation. With the beginning of a new school year coinciding with the theoretical end of summer everybody has to lament and ponder about another season passing and what it means.

I really haven’t written anything all summer….in fact my last blog post was ironically back in June when I waxed poetically about long summer days and the possibilities that meant. I even looked into the future knowing that at then end of summer I would look back and wonder where the time went. But as I look out across the yard I see the field of corn still needing to be harvested. It’s not sweet corn to be eaten but field corn to be used as feed for cattle so I know the farmer down the road will harvest it in the next month or so.

I see the hummingbirds hovering around the feeder I have out front. The feeder was a gift from a friend. We were sitting on her porch on a lazy summer evening eating pizza and drinking cold beer. We used to work together so we do this a couple of times a summer to keep in touch and reminisce about the misery and joy of our work days. We talk about other co-workers we’ve seen or never see anymore. We laugh about the stressful days we experienced and the requests from management that seem so silly now that we’ve retired. As we ate pizza I noticed the hummingbird feeder in her yard and the birds hovering and flitting around it. I may have casually mentioned the wonder of the hummingbird probably to keep the conversation going and to avoid a lull that might lead to an early end of the evening. My friend being the generous and kind soul she is showed up at my door a few days later with a hummingbird feeder and now I watch these wondrous small birds hover around my feeder. I especially notice them in the morning or just at dusk the sound of their wings thumping and catching my attention before I even see them.

A slight fog hovered over the ground this morning, the nights have become quite cool and the mornings now require a light jacket. The fog disappears quickly as the sun rises but it’s a reminder of cooler weather to come. The deer have noticed the apple and pear trees are full of fruit. A small fawn still spotted has been wandering around the yard frequently during the day alternating between the fruit trees out front and the corn field in back. Although I haven’t seen his mother I like to think she’s nearby keeping an eye on her young hungry prodigy.

My bike hangs in the garage. I keep thinking I need to clean it after the miles ridden this summer. Living on a dirt road leads to a layer of dirt covering all of it, but instead of cleaning it I’d rather ride it and clean it another day. I wonder if the very act of cleaning it symbolizes an end to my summer rides and that may be the most powerful signal of the end of something.

It’s not a calendar that declares an end but the act of doing or not doing an activity, so no summer is not over, there’s still so much to do and enjoy. Although the mornings are cool and the fruit trees are drooping with fruit and the corn needs to be harvested and yes kids are back to school, it’s the small gentle hummingbird flitting about that remind me to get out and take advantage of these precious days and perhaps it’s time I call my friend and eat pizza on her porch again.

Peace and Love,

John