And so we go back to real life. The past two weeks have been such a lovely break from regular life – with vacation and time alone, etc. And this morning I woke up, put on the fall clothes (close-toed shoes, black patent, etc) and headed back to work.

“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” was talking about all the ways in which plants and animals use day length to drive major decisions: not just hibernation, but mating, and blooming, and sprouting, and birthing. It is deeply rooted, this instinctive reaction we all have to the waning length of days. We come honestly by the vague gloom that earlier evenings brings upon us.

The trees on the drive down were more mottled with red than they were two weeks ago, and the sky had that saturated, intense blue that I associate with early September. The light feels somewhat elegiac too but I think that is probably in my mind.