Wednesday marks the first full day of fall as well as the Autumnal Equinox, when day and night share the sky equally, give or take a few seconds.
Fall is often considered a mystical, sometimes melancholy season. It's a time of transition from summer into winter. The nights come earlier, the temperature gradually cools and the leaves change colors before falling and covering the ground. Poets and songwriters frequently use autumn as a metaphor for aging, Maxwell Anderson's lyrics for the classic "September Song" capture that feeling perfectly:
"Oh it's a long, long while
from May 'till December
And the days grow short
When you reach September.
When the Autumn weather
turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time
For the waiting game."
But it is also the season of harvest, when farmers reap the bounty of their labor and fresh fruits and vegetables make their way to local markets. Many Native American tribes also associated the season with a harvest of sorts, as wild plants gave up their fruit for gathering.
Fair season, which descends from traditional harvest celebrations, is a big part of autumn, too. Well, usually. COVID-19 seems to have had other ideas.
Halloween is just around the corner, with Thanksgiving close behind. And soon after we will celebrate Christmas and the new year.
Fall means football and a new lineup of TV shows. It means hunting season. It means change and renewal.
It means the cycle of life continues. For without fall, there would be no winter. And without winter, no spring or summer.
Fall is a mystery certainly, melancholy at times, but a miracle always.