The first real gust of air blew off the water when I was walking through the local cultural center this morning. That first blast that says it is really time to face the cold season that is rolling in. The magnolia tree is laughing at us and our never ending quest to clean up its leaves. The rake is barely put away, the groan of the garage door closing and those leaves start to trickle down to the empty patch we have just cleared. It has been a crazy growing season. The Christmas cactus, who took their usual summer respite on the back porch, are in full bloom and Thanksgiving has yet to happen. The morning glory vine on the lamppost, that I nurtured from seed, did nothing this summer. Now it has grabbed hold of the bare dogwood branches above it and it is sending forth bell like blossoms of periwinkle. The Montauk daisy, which peaks when every thing else has finished for the season, is always a wonder at this time of year. It stands strong among all the discarded leaves around it. This was a long week. I need to be more like the Montauk daisy.

When did Halloween become such a celebratory holiday? Sure, there have always been some people who are more into the festivities of all that is spooky than others. But adults wishing a Happy Halloween to each other with no children around? Orange strings of lights twinkling on bushes as kids run from one house to the next. We never had them. Then again, I never thought I would see the day that a kid would reach into his stash and hunt around among the sugary treats to retrieve his ringing cell phone from the bottom of his bag and answer it. But I did.

Cue the orchestra, raise the curtain, I am stepping into the light. Blogging. I have resisted technology as much as I could so far and I will continue to do so. I have no interest in the whole notion of 'social networking' as I don't have the luxury of time to spend with my friends as it is. My generation is becoming so disconnected from personal interaction in the wake of keeping up contacts on the web with people they wouldn't even recognize when reaching for the same gallon of milk in the grocery store. I attended a function recently where so many people were looking at their phones it made me wonder who they couldn't be away from for three hours?

I take pleasure in watching the shifting changes of the magnolia tree in my yard. There are leaves that fall, buds that burst forth in an explosion of vibrant pink in the spring to remind me of what has passed and that time moves on, even when I may not be ready.