Welcome Autumn!

You know the scene in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" where the all the Whos in Whoville are out singing their "welcome Christmas" song? That is exactly how I felt this weekend. So, so happy that autumn is finally here.

Right this minute I am outside on the back patio listening to the water fountain, the cicadas, and calling jays. The occasional hummingbird buzzes overhead at the feeder. Nick Drake is playing softly from my computer. I've just finished writing my CV and sent it to my advisor for review and I am feeling good despite the enormous amount of work ahead of me in the next few weeks.
Just a few days ago sitting out on the patio at 4 in the afternoon would have been a hot, sweaty affair. But miraculously the humidity has all but disappeared and even the warmest of afternoons are tempered by a slight breeze -- the type of breeze that has a hint of coolness and the scent of changing leaves and warm spices.

I have found I can be really productive outside. I would rather be surrounded by the sounds and colors of the garden than entombed in a dark library or the house with its stifling air conditioning. Of course I am the first to sing the praises of central air in the depths of summer, but now that it is fall I want to throw the windows open and drink in the gentle gusts of autumn.