June 30

June is at an end. It has been a month of green growth and vibrant song, of field flowers on display amid the grass grown tall in the full day sun. It’s seen new birds taken to wing from nests built in trees and shrubs we’ve come to expect. It has perfumed us with the fecundity of pollen in the air, of still nights where the scents of honeysuckle waft slowly by. It has seen our longest day come to pass, and June knows that we will pay for this leisure in six months hence.

It ends with the first hints of change. Look closely now. The oaks and maples have leaves that show blight, curled and yellowed. The vegetables are growing yet, to be sure, but there is also fruit on the vine, expanding each day as maturity nears. Crab grass is taking hold in the yard, thriving in the hotter days and warm nights that will mark July.

The rush of May and June is over, and things seem to be waiting for July to arrive. The pace will continue to slow, as the heat builds all the while the days slowly begin to soften.