Autumn, Three Days In
Distracted by the atypical warm weather, I did not notice the advent of Fall on September 22nd. Here in the Midwest we’ve had days in the high 80’s late into the month. Quite unusual for the Chicago area. A few maples show a hint of color in my neighborhood.
On Sunday September 25th I visited Kraklauer Creek, a patch of wildness located to the side of the McDonald’s parking lot. The creek bank is faced with hewn stone from a Wisconsin quarry and is prolific with wild flowers. The creek is a favorite of children and wild finches.
Nature “knows” that the seasonal shift is due, never mind the late temperature anomaly. Nature is not fooled, always adjusting to the rhythms dictated by the tilt of the earth axis. Here are a few photos of the creek, three calendar days into fall. 
I noticed interplay, the dance of inanimate matter and life. Temperature fluctuation and moisture split the molecules of rock, giving purchase to a tuft of grass. The crack will grow.
Goldenrod gleams in the afternoon sunlight. Blossoms form gentle arcs.
Insects busily gather nectar from the last flowers of the
season. This comforts me. They instinctively prepare for the cold months to come. Survival is the overriding drive and each takes what is offered in it’s niche.
Purple Asters are prolific at this late point in the warm season. The
royal purple is worthy of the border of Caesars robe. The blossoms are visited by busy bees.
Milkweed, important for the monarch butterfly,
produces a interesting spiky seed pod. If I were a bug, I’d describe for you the nourishment 
which these pods provide. Many things here will remain a mystery.
I depart Kraklauer Creek consoled that Nature is an infinite adjustment of life and inanimate matter, –not dependent upon politics, or trade, or promise keeping, or the fragility of human nature. It just is. A cluster of dried artichoke thistle stands sentinel over the creek bed, at rest already, their work complete.
Farewell for now my friends. Life is becoming colder. And I am older too.
