Happy First Day of Autumn!

Let's start my favorite season of the year with my favorite color! Here are some gorgeous purple New England asters over at Autumn Meadow Park. Honestly, where ELSE would a girl go on the first day of autumn? Hmm?

I was on my bike, and so I got there really fast. There were no butterflies, alas, as it was cloudy and overcast, and butterflies are typically solar-powered. They do best on sunny days. But the purples were outstanding!

In other local news, the hummingbirds are winding down their season. We've seen one on occasion in the evenings, visiting the jewelweed; in the afternoons, the Mexican sunflowers. 

I have one feeder still up, and we moved it to the front yard, where they have been hanging out. I cleaned and filled it again on this day. My usual practice is to keep it up at least a week or two AFTER I see my last hummingbird. Our purpose is to offer hospitality to any tiny starving weary winged travelers.

Last year, my parents flew off to heaven hand-in-hand on the day the hummingbirds left us for the season. It seemed portent somehow, and perfectly timed, exactly aligned with the natural order of things.* These birds have flown!

My husband discovered a second large monarch caterpillar on our milkweed on this day. I named the first one Fred, so we have named the second one Wilma. (No, I have no idea as to what is male or female, for a caterpillar.) The chrysalis I purloined is still green, but it seems to be darkening a bit, and I'm keeping an eye on it.

These are the updates, as the seasons turn, as time moves on, as the hummingbirds fatten up and fly away, as the caterpillars turn into butterflies, and as the purple asters bloom. 

Welcome, autumn!

Now, for this purple posy story, I want to use Prince's song Purple Rain, which is a favorite. (It would begin to rain overnight, so these blooms are purple and wet now, for sure!) Here is the Super Bowl XLI version, which is outstanding. For the Prince fans, I'm also including the story of the making of the Super Bowl half-time show, as well as the full half-time show itself. For this weekend, which is the anniversary of my parents' passing, I also include this one: the Beatles, with Norwegian Wood.

*I came back to add a bit here because it seems right to do so. Yes, I am still sad about it all, and I miss my parents. But their passing happened exactly right, and they were not in pain, and they were well taken care of until their final days and beyond. They had enjoyed good, long lives together, full of richness and family and love and joy. Best yet, neither one of them was left behind. Now, about the hummingbirds: there are people who will tell you to take your feeders in now, lest you tempt the hummingbirds to stay. But I am here to tell you that things will happen in their own good time, and you cannot hold back the clock, nor keep the hummingbirds HERE when it is their time to GO. Nor can you stop the passing of someone you love into the Next Place when it is THEIR time to go. I tell the story about the hummingbirds and about the butterflies when I speak of my parents' death, because these are processes that involve magic, and passing between worlds, and the transition from walking on feet to flying on WINGS must be joyous, whether you be man, woman, or butterfly! I am at peace with that, and I celebrate their great migration to WINGS!!!! In their honor, I also add this wonderful song: Rising Appalachia, with I'll Fly Away.