Savoring the last of Summer; the Autumn breeze is with us

The hints of Autumn are upon us here in Virginia: leaves with edges of yellow; the tomatoes are ripe; the mornings are darker and cooler; the sunset Tuesday was clear, red and rich. The air feels lighter, the evening breeze crisper.

Still, I am a summer person, and I am not quite ready to give up the long days and the lushness of my favorite season. Please let me cling a little longer to my "Endless Summer," though now instead of lazy Zuma Beach, I have a wonderful wooden rocker on the front porch to enjoy the last remnant of summer. Let Fall come, but, please, one day at a time, and not too soon.

Near our house, the pond looks like it fell from a Claude Monet painting, a living icon of summer. But even there, a hint of Fall's yellow hangs from the branches. Our houseguest, Anthony Ramirez, took a few photos the other day, and I share one here.

And our friend Karen from Tennessee sent this wonderful poem Tuesday to mark passing of the season. May we savor each day's blessings:

Rivertalk
by Jeanne Lohmann

Rivertalk

is whatever comes along,
practice always here while we

keep on shore, all the time
saying we want to get wet.

But the river has ways
of sound and light, ripples

and waves that tell us:
don't be so serious, rumble in

where nothing is finished or broken
and nothing asks to be fixed.