There has been a very odd juxtapositioning of seasons here in upstate New York. The calendar says fall but I don’t think anyone told Mother Nature – not that I would second guess a mother on what is best.

I woke up this morning to a thermometer that says it is 71F outside at 6 am. No sun out yet so that cannot be it. When I wandered in from high school curriculum night last night at about 9:15 pm, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Nothing to hold in the warmth of the day yesterday.

Then, I opened the door to put an empty tissue box into the recycling bin. The front yard is full of leaves. They are bright yellow, red and beautiful! This is fall! I know we had a few really cold, clear nights last week. I didn’t realize the leaves had turned as not all of them have.

Is it summer? The thermometer, and my inability to get to sleep last night in the heat in my room, say yes. Is it fall? The front yard and the slightly naked maple trees, and soon one of my sons who will have to rake, say yes.