About this time every year, I begin to have a yearning for autumn. I am tired of summer. Autumn needs to hurry on its way and it needs to make everything instantly change...just for me. I need red leaves. I need cooler weather. I need pumpkins!!! There! I said it! Fall, where are you?
This morning, I awoke to a certain briskness in the air. A slight north wind played on the brain enough to send thoughts of Autumn arriving early this year. Then, a butterfly decided that it would add its flair to the bucket. A Gulf Fritillary alit on an orange zinnia and sat basking in the early morning sunlight. The fritillaries do a migration for the winter months so come late summer or early fall here, and we start seeing masses of them. Between these, the Monarchs and the Viceroys, the gardens appear to have orange flowers leaping from the stalks! (For any who wish to plant gardens strictly to attract butterflies, I recommend planting zinnias. Buy a pack of seeds from the local dollar store and you will have zinnias for life. The seeds are easily dried and saved.)
Back to my wish of an early autumn, that will all have to be a wait and see game. One thing I have learned is that you can never change the weather or push the seasons, no matter how hard you try. Still, that does not keep one from dreaming and I shall dream of cooler weather to come.
