This evening during happy hour two bald eagles carried on a lively conversation of trills in the tree above me. We may now wear white shoes and white jeans past Labor Day, but few still wear bikinis and wake boards. As Summer melts into Autumn, the recreational boat traffic on our lake begins to recede. Into their place slip the staid year-round residents. Looking up, I am often surprised and rewarded by the quiet prehistoric presence of a Great Blue Heron. Waterfowl are seen more frequently and ducks gad about boldly. A tribe of three wild turkeys strut up and down the lanes with quite a wide range, looking for all the world like a band of marauders until you see them scuttle into the shrubs, bobbing and weaving off through the underbrush. Cloven deer tracks begin to outnumber boot foot prints on the beachfront and forest paths, and we know just where we can find a family of deer at 5pm weekdays. These deer splash regularly through the lakeshore at night en route to the wind fall apples from the tree next door. Daily and tirelessly they bound out of view as I come upon them in their wood, their fluffy white tails flagging their leaps.

Nights are crisp, punctuated with stars and Mars. Days are nature-filled, mellow and perfect. I’m glad we’re here, spending them with you at the lake as Autumn emerges.