Taking Time for Autumn

   Being down here on the Bayou by myself most of the time, I sort of lose track of time.  There is no need for it.  This sounds strange for someone who collects and repairs antique clocks.  "There is no need for keeping track of time."  But...here I am.  I pretty much live by the "feel" of things.  Most days are centered around the weather not time.  I plant when the weather is right.  I work when the weather is right.  I fish when the weather is right.  There are days when I cannot tell you the time, the day of of the week or even what day of the month it is.  There is no "rat-race" when the rats are doing their thing and I am doing mine.  I go for months without ever leaving the place. 

  That said, I do pretty much keep track of seasons!  Those are hard not to recognize when they flip.  Today, it occurred to me that autumn must be near.  As I was working the Small Gardens for my fall planting, a sure sign of the seasonal change was evident.  Next to the gate of the vegetable garden, two stalks of blooms wafted gently on the breeze.  One was the chives that now dot the hillside in wild abandon and the other was a nerine lily.  Usually, hundreds of these blooms (both) can be spotted around the place but with the severe drought that has befallen us, these are the only two to be found.  Both of these are spindly due to that lack of rain.  It saddens me but, at the same time, gives me hope.  If it is autumn, perhaps we shall began to see some rain coming our way. and the summer heat will be pushed away for a few months.  I am ready for that change and thankful that the plants are doing their best to remind me that it is "time" for the seaonal change.