The Last Days of Summer

The autumnal equinox will be, locally, a little after sunrise on Tuesday. This is therefore the last weekend of summer. For Tolkien, embedded in English weather, that would metaphorically imply the end of a long and happy season, and the beginning of a time of increasing sorrow. Elrond is said to be 'as kind as summer,' and the elvish singing best in June. 

In the South, even in the mountains, the summer has a less-kind sense. High summer is very hot and humid, and not a perfect time to do much of anything. Late summer is often fairly brutal, with frequent storms as well as lingering, punishing heat. The coming of autumn is a welcome relief and the opening of a period of great weather and -- as the trees turn -- phenomenal natural beauty. 

Next weekend I have plans to attend a big motorcycle rally over in Tennessee. This weekend I am staying closer to home -- today I don't even plan to leave. I'm smoking some chicken and turning some red jalapenos into chipotles, and now that it's afternoon I've cracked a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. A few motorcycle repairs, just minor maintenance stuff, and listening to the thunder roll in from the anvil heads soaring over the mountains. 

Just a quiet afternoon as we wait for the astronomical transition.