Subtle Signs

Seasons often change in tiny increments. After the summer equinox, the days get gradually shorter. It's hard to notice at first, but one morning when you awake, it's not as light outside as it was a few weeks earlier.
One of the first harbingers of fall that I notice, is the leaves of sumac. They turn the most beautiful shade of crimson you can imagine. When I was younger, I always wanted a car painted that color.
Then comes the song of the cicadas at dusk. You can hear choruses of them grinding away like tiny coffee grinders. Every now and then, they wind down as if to change gears, and then start back up.
As summer wears on I notice a slight change in the angle of the light as it pokes through the trees in the evenings.
You can't judge by a change in the temperature or humidity, because there are years you can swim through September.
As we walked this morning before 9 and perspiration soaked through my tee shirt, I stopped on the path and shot this picture of sumac, and smiled, because I realized that autumn will be here before we know it.