Happy Fall!

The start of autumn officially occurred last week with the equinox, but, as I mentioned at the time, that day doesn't really mean much of anything to most people.  Some people say fall started after labor day, or when school started.  Some may have looked for a phenological event like the first red leaves or the goldenrod taking over the prairies... but if you want to judge the start of fall by the weather, it seems like today might be it.

Last night, I walked around my neighborhood in the early evening, it was in the 70's and the whine of cicadas was loud in the background.  At the time, being a follower of weather forecasts, I found myself wondering... will this be the last time the year that I hear them?  (In phenology, "lasts" are so much harder than "firsts."  The first frost is obvious, but the last one... what if I mark it down and then there's more frost tomorrow or the next day?  You have to keep noting the lasts until it really, truly is the last.  Sometimes it doesn't occur to you that it will be the last monarch or the last earthworm until much later, and you have to try and remember what the date actually was.  So we'll see, I guess...)

At any rate, after yesterday evening's warm, summery-sounding and -feeling walk, this morning dawned... not too bad, when I left for the gym at 4:45 am.  It was 65, and if it's 65 degrees at 4:45 am, it'll probably be in the 70's at mid-day, right?  Were the weather forecasts wrong?  (Wait, the internet can't be wrong!)  Did I choose the entirely wrong clothes?  Leaving the gym 2 hours later, if felt considerably cooler.  And it was still nearly dark with clouds, spitting almost-rain, and windy.  In the time I have been writing this post, the temperature has dropped another 3 degrees.  (It says it's 56 now.) The 10-day has highs in the low 60's or upper 50's for its entire duration...

Now I'm wondering if I dressed warmly enough!
Happy autumn.