SEPTEMBER 24.1

         I know. Another photo of a sunflower. I like the bee in the middle of this one, the depth of the yellow, the contrast of textures, its affinity with sunlight. It's another glorious September morning, in terms of light and blue sky, but it was a frosty night. There's a fire on in both stoves this morning and it's necessary. I am always surprised at the sudden shift of the seasons - how one day it's summer and then not. The leaves shift, too, ever so imperceptibly. I study the maple tree in the front yard - in a few weeks, it will be sunflower yellow, but for now it is a summer holdout, green and glorious.
         We drove along the highway from Ottawa on Sunday; there are already frequent blasts/bursts of crimson and orange, and in low lying places, blood-red maples reach out of rock and swamp. Autumn is a rally before the end, I think, and it's lovely in its resolve not to be forgotten.