First Day of Fall 2018

The first day of fall in the Binghamton area of upstate New York turned out to the the opposite of what the summer has been - cool (estimated low for tonight 42 degrees) and breezy.  And we have another break in the rain.

In the stores, everything is pumpkin spice.  Cookies, cereals, spreads, yogurt, you name it.

The crickets are chirping slower and slower.

The trees in downtown Binghamton are starting to turn, although this may be stress from all the rain.

In my yard the signs of fall are all there.

Some years ago, a nursery in Ithaca, NY gave us an aster plant and it is in full bloom.

Sedum colors up in my front yard.

The mums  are budding.  They were gifts to my mother in law in May, who was in a long term care facility (she has been hospitalized for nearly a week now - I'll provide an update in a few days).  We planted them when their blooms faded, just to see what would happen.  I doubt they will survive the winter, though (these types of mums don't tend to be hardy in our climate.)

And in our community garden, zinnias are about the only thing remaining.

Fall is a time of changes - and a time to be retrospective, as the first cold winds blow, and as I watch my mother in law in what will probably be her last few months of life.

But it's a part of the life we all cherish, while we are able to enjoy it.