July 18

Late June’s deep greens are slowly giving way to a maturity that brings fading to more yellow hues. There is still green enough, to be sure, but it is unmistakable that the pace of production can only be sustained so long.

With maturity comes the first hints at decline, and the leaves of oaks, maples, ash and willow all show signs of fading color. The vibrant green of June now shows patches of wilt or yellow.

Yellow and orange will explode of course, when autumnal change takes hold and the trigger moments of cooler temperatures and fading light arrive. Now, the yellows are a normal succession, and indication of fatigue where the frenzied pace of production must wane.

There are other yellows to be found, which will become more abundant these next few weeks and herald the ending of summer. The golden rods are beginning to bloom, only here and there just now, but surely more tomorrow.

These pennants of late summer fill the fields and roadsides well into autumn, and will juxtapose with the New England asters to display our fall yellow and purple.

There is a small clone blooming today in the meadow on the circle of Village Drive near Highland Street. I noticed it standing amid an array of Timothy Grass, wild carrot, waning red clover, and daisy fleabane. On the whole it had a decidedly summer look – a meadow untouched, save for the hopping crickets, buzzing dragonflies and my passage within.

Still, the presence of the Golden Rod bloom was a reminder, that one season is giving way, slowly to be eclipsed by another. We tend to characterize summer followed by autumn, as if discretely to occur. Look closely; the change is already taking place. With passing days, the autumn that will be is taking hold of the summer that was.