End of Summer
To an unknowing observer, this picture looks like a weedy field with some willow trees (left) and a tulip tree (right) in the background.

What this picture, taken today, really represents is the End of Summer.

See the golden tone of the weeds? That's the goldenrod just starting to bust out into golden bloom. The goldenrod towers above all the other weeds. Some patches of it are taller than me. By the first week in September, the entire field will be screaming gold and looking as if there's nothing growing there but goldenrod.

Autumn in SW Michigan is a beautiful season, but way way too short. With just a little imagination, summer lasts until the middle of September. By the first of November the leaves are on the ground, the days are cold and short, and everyone has located their mittens and boots.

This very week my mother mentioned tentative Thanksgiving plans. Could it really be that close?

Even more horrifying, last Thursday evening Gail at doggy school asked us to start thinking of ideas for the Briarwood Dog Training entry in the Kalamazoo Holiday Parade, formerly known as the Kalamazoo Christmas Parade and still frequently called by that name. One of her first thoughts was to have the dogs be sheep and their people be shepherds. Fourteen pound Pappy will need to be a newborn lamb. At least he's the right color.

I am just NOT ready to think about Christmas yet. Please. No.