Though warm (or even hot) days may lie ahead, the longer nights of September bring cool mornings across the American Heartland, generally free of the haze and heavy dew of July and August. It will now take more time for the annual cicadas to strike up their late summer din and turkey vultures must wait until mid morning for thermals to develop.
Autumn color is spreading through the stands of sumac and patches of yellow and rust dot the forest. Snakes and box turtles appear on our trails and roadways, soaking in heat after the long, cool nights and the morning songbird chorus has regained its vigor as the heat and humidity of summer slowly fade to the south; among our more vocal residents are Carolina wrens and white-breasted nuthatches, species that, like many humans, seem to relish the crisp weather to come.
Free of both oppressive August heat and numbing October chill, September mornings are among the more pleasant periods of the entire year. Rarely blemished by severe weather, they rescue us from the inertia of summer and lead toward the glorious days of autumn. And, for many parents, having endured a long stretch of domestic chaos, September mornings seem to be especially peaceful.
