In stark contrast to August's slow lazy, relaxing days, September was a whirlwind of work, visits from friends, stress, vacation, change, seeing family, making plans, and more work.
For the last 20 years or so, I've been away for Labor Day, returning only after the school year is in full swing. In my experience, school starting up signals the real start to a new year. Back to school means back to work, back to Winter and back to waiting for a new Summer.
1) Prospect Park Zoo's peacocks have refined tastes. 2) Busy bees in Cape May Point. 3) Watcher Dog hanging out. 4) Watcher cat being sneaky off the 15th Street circle.
Every other year, I come home after the first week of September and it's Fall already. The weather's cooler, the leaves changing, the hustle and bustle already begun. But this year I got to watch the slow change of hot end-of-Summer days to the mild leaf swirled mornings and chilly dark nights of Autumn. It's an interesting sea change to experience, much more lazy and drawn out than I had expected.
In the beginning of September, friends visited from out of town and we got to visit some of our favorite places, eat giant pretzels, sew, and go to the beach. We stayed Down The Shore, house hunted, met new cats, enjoyed some September Swims.
We had some sad news when we found out the our truck was too expensive to repair, and we had to let it go. It's been a long time since I've lived in the city without a car, so part of this month was about getting used be being driven, taking the train, or staying put when we might rather be driving away.
At the end of the month we took a family vacation, so we could relax away from the city a bit. We headed down to Cape May, the site of long past visits and more recent stays. We beachcombed and bird watched, checked out the North American Sea Glass Festival, ate at our favorite restaurants, and visited old haunts, we wandered into Critterfest, light house gazed, read, and talked a lot, before heading back home, back to work, and back to a new month.
1) Strange times, 2) stranger's cat, 3) strange 'Kat, 4) strange name for a bird (Mango).
Although fun times and adventure were woven throughout the month, September was mostly about work. It was a month for change, getting serious, and getting down to business. It was stressful. It was hard.
I think of it as a harvest. The work we put in during this month will reap growth, and plow the way to rewards in the future. To me, that is what September is about. Starting again, working hard, making new, getting ready for real Winter. And waiting for Summer to return. The long wait begins in September.
If September is a last harvest, plowing the fields, tilling the soil, then I hope October is the last feast before Winter. October, I'm setting the table.