Autumn Chill

The last few weeks of August are bittersweet for me. Preferring summer above all the seasons, the onset of fall comes too soon. I suppose it's a nostalgic time of year for many people, but I think more so for some New Yorkers.

It's a beautiful time of year; warm season grasses (like Chasmanthium latifolium, or northern sea oats, below) begin to bloom,


Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) fruits ripen,


Joe-pye weed (Eupatorium species) blooms,


and Autumn Joy sedums set their flower buds.


Monarchs begin their trip to Mexico,


And sunflowers (Helianthus annus) are peaking.


Finally, there is a chill in the air -- a crispness -- on days like today. I feel that coolness astutely at the end of each August, in the lengthening shadows of two buildings which stand now only in our memories.