Winds of Change

I felt it yesterday.... the winds of change. As I went for my run in the still searing heat, there was a subtle difference in the air; it is changing. I feel autumn in the Keys on the way.

Its hard to tell to any difference if you don't live here... for now, the days are still often above 90, and the heat index pushes triple digits (or above) often too. I'm still running every day, and have added more challenges to my street workouts. In my own way, they're intense workouts, and I return home drenched daily, with a feeling (hopefully!) of accomplishment. Yesterday, October 1, as I began to hit my stride I sensed the differences in the air, and shut off my music. I began to pay closer attention to all that was around me, and quickly realized that there was much more activity with the animals, and seemingly the insects too. There seemed to be more songbirds fluttering about, singing their songs louder than I've heard in a while. The fall hawk migration is beginning as well, and I noticed some catching thermals way high above me. There were more dragonflies fluttering about than usual, and I even saw more ant activity at one of the stops where I do push ups.

Underneath the relentless heat, I felt a twinge of cool. In fact, I swear it was more that I could smell it. I began thinking about what autumn will bring here in the Keys. It will bring big breaks in the humidity, and long stretches where I can open my doors and windows, catch cross breezes and watch my curtains rustle softly. Autumn will bring baked apples for breakfast and many varieties of soups made from root vegetables. Autumn will also bring the return of some wonderful repeat guests to Deer Run; we've been preparing for upcoming season... sprucing up rooms, completely re-doing 1 room, re-configuring things in the garden, and bettering ourselves overall through the summer.

I know that autumn will bring me some relief from the heat on my runs, although I do not like to complain about heat. Let us not forget that I moved here partly because of the endless summer, and now I crave it constantly. To many friends & family north of here, autumn will bring sweaters, boots, blankets, mums and pumpkins. Down here I can live with the pumpkins, but keep those crappy mums away from me and don't ever talk about sweaters!

So, its true, the winds of change lurk underneath what is here now. I felt it and smelled it. I'm looking forward to the autumn harvest, the return of some good friends, and watching all the animals be more comfortable with some cooler temperatures. Autumn in the Keys is beautiful, what with bird migrations, perfect dry weather (REALLY looking forward to being able to say "GOODBYE HURRICANE SEASON"), and traditional veganized comfort food. The animals (especially Peri) will continue to seek out their sunny patches, take long naps and enjoy each day. Now that I live here, I don't have to say goodbye to the summer, meaning I no longer dread autumn. When the smell of roasted chestnuts starts to get to you.... look on line for flights then book your room. We'll be here, palm trees and all.