Autumn Descends
Autumn descends with clouds and rain,
with harvest crops long gone to grain.
Promise of cool days round the bend…
but summer doesn’t want to end.
Missing the catbird’s plaintive call
as crimson leaves begin to fall.
Sights and sounds of autumn transcend…
but summer doesn’t want to end.
Out of the dark, into the damp
dubious sun shines like dim lamp.
Change is coming, strong winds portend…
but summer doesn’t want to end.
Autumn descends with clouds and rain…
but summer doesn’t want to end.
Colleen Keller Breuning © 2023
September 23, 2023
Happy Autumn Equinox, everyone! My favorite season is finally here! I will miss the lazy summer days lounging by the country club pool and days at the beach, but I welcome the change of each season. We did our last summer fire pit last night. It was lovely sitting by the fire, sipping wine and listening to music. However, it started getting cloudy at the end and the wind was really picking up, blowing smoke all over us. Tropical Storm Ophelia winds were starting to hit. With the storm passing through this afternoon, there is certainly an autumn mood going on.
I love the beauty of all seasons, but autumn seems to invoke all of one’s senses. The golds and crimsons of the leaves, the feel of crisp air, the taste of tart apples, and the smell of cinnamon and pumpkins resonates with me. Because of the severe drought we’ve encountered here in Virginia, it seems the trees are letting go of their leaves earlier. One of our red maples in the backyard never really turned the beautiful colors it usually does – half of it went to brown in early September and dropped some of its leaves already. I guess that is nature’s way of preservation, but it’s kind of a bummer to miss out on the beauty. I am hoping most of my other trees hold on and display some gorgeous colors in October.
This week the change in the air was quite evident, a touch of coolness which felt so nice. I’m missing the catbirds, though! They seemed to have disappeared within the last week. I took a lot of comfort in their calls at different times of the day, as they made their home in our giant hydrangea bushes on the side of the house. The cats were pretty entertained by them, too. At the same time, the hummingbirds made their appearance on my front porch, to my amazement! I had kind of neglected their feeder most of the summer, never really seeing any in action. One morning I went out to water my geraniums on the porch, and I heard a loud buzzing by my head. YES, it was a hummingbird who was dive bombing me and telling me to clean the feeder! I took it inside, washed it thoroughly and mixed up a fresh batch of nectar. He was literally buzzing to and fro, from oak tree to feeder as I stood there. I was absolutely thrilled and obsessing over the little guy. I got some pretty good pictures and video of him. Dan says I am now obsessed haha! I walk by the front window constantly, and he is still visiting as of this morning.
Today we are staying inside and doing some cleaning around the house. The Florida State/Clemson game is on – go Seminoles! We’re supposed to get more rain/winds from the tropical storm tonight, so that is always indicative of a good chance of power outages in our neighborhood. I’ve got the fall scented candles ready to go, and of course, lots of wine!
Enjoy the delights of autumn and have a great weekend!
Xoxo
Colleen
Inspiration: “By the Roes and By the Hinds of the Field” By Johann Johannsson
Ecrits Blogophilia Week 12.15 – Summer’s End
Hard Bonus: Feature something dubious (the sun)
Easy Bonus: Mention a lamp
Colleen Keller Breuning 
Beautiful sonnet! Cold rainy autumn days are perfect for college football and getting stuff done around the house, am I right? KUDOS, Earthling! ❤