Last year the first signs of fall occurred on October 1st with yellow and orange leaves strewn about. This year fall arrives with a deeper blue sky to replace the scorching summer canopy which appears bleached and oppressive from mid-June through most of September. According to the 10-day forecast, we still have another 9 or 10 days of 100+ degree temperatures but by mid-October, we should finally be able to turn off our air-conditioner until next May. Here in the Desert Southwest of Phoenix, Arizona, we are also experiencing a brief second spring where after a summer of dormancy plants leap back to life with a splash of color and an explosion of bees.

Bumblebees too are in abundance this year, more than we’ve seen in previous years. We are keeping our eyes open for praying mantis as we saw one outside our door a couple of days ago which is an uncommon sight. With these days where our mornings are finally dipping down to the pleasant low-70s (20-24c) the songbirds make their return from wherever it was they were hiding out when daytime temps pressed into 115 degrees (46c). No sign of the mockingbirds yet, but our eyes are open wide looking for their telltale jumping from their perch and their car-alarm sounds.

For the next 8 months, we’ll be reminded time and again why living here in Arizona can be so terrific as the blue of the sky featured in today’s photo will be ever-present. Come January in the dead of winter we’ll be “shivering” on 70 degrees (20c) days with mornings that can dip as lows as 40 degrees (5c). The funny thing is that while the majority of the year is absolutely pleasant, it is the 4 months of summer that just passed that defines the environment of living here and that definition isn’t exactly nice.

Of course, the blue skies tell you nothing of the color of attitudes or the climate of the intellect that spread from the shores of the Pacific coast to the Eastern seaboard, down to the Gulf of Mexico, and up to the Canadian border. If you have read my blog posts before you can’t be blamed for expecting a lament about the poor cultural weather extremes we are experiencing lately and I can’t underplay how much impact they have on me, it’s like being on the most beautiful mountain top except it’s -40 degrees with winds whipping by at 100mph, the woods are burning, and the rumble of a slow approaching meteor bears down from above.

So as I stare into the blue horizon above looking for a silver lining, I must rely on future travels, adventures, and thoughts where I’ll try to discover what all of these patterns I spend so much time collecting might ultimately mean. I know that there’s something hidden in the obvious that I’m failing to see, and so I just keep on taking notes and firing off these missives as I search for what it is I think I have to say. Or, maybe I already know the story I want to tell, I just don’t know quite how yet? Well, you can bet I’m working on it, heck I even have a working title.