Fall

I just looked at the recent postings on this blog and was amazed and the fact that I had only written once this month, and today's the 20th. Work has certainly taken up a lot of my time, and I'm back at work on my dissertation, so I find solace in being (perhaps?) productive. and if that cuts back on the blogging, so be it.

But today I find myself looking out the window and thinking about fall. It's still summer-like here in ABQ--highs in the (low) 80s, lots of sun, the swamp cooler's on. But there are signs of fall. Here are the main one's I'm noticing this year:

• As the days get shorter, the sun is rising farther to the south--it's close to Tijeras canyon from our vantage point, meaning that the sun actually crests pretty early simply because there's less mountain at that point. By December the sun will rise closer to the Manzanos and the days will be quite short.
• I don't have to water the plants as much. I water the strawberries every 2 or 3 days, and herbs once every 10 days or so. The days are less brutally hot and the nights get cooler, letting the plants recover nicely. There's also more shade during the day. Along these lines, for the first time we have a second bloom on the Desert Willow this year. Typically, the profusion of flowers on the tree goes from April to June, but by July it's all over for the year. Then last week we got a flood of new blossoms, with no end in sight.
• The cooler temps also mean that there are moments when it's a bit chilly, especially if I open the windows too early in the morning or run the swamp cooler too late in the evening.
• I actually wore a long-sleeve shirt to work earlier this week, and the kids have done likewise a few times on the last few weeks.
• The State Fair is almost over (and again we didn't make it out there), and the Balloon Fiesta is just a few weeks away.
• Summer has started asking what we should get the kids for Xmas. Any suggestions?