Summer wanes

There is a crabapple tree in our backyard. It is one of the heralds of spring, the first to show a fat buds in April and the first to be covered in a dome of white flowers in May.

It is also the first to shed leaves and send the first hint that the long warm days will end very very soon. Unattractive little sailboats of brown and yellow that soon spread in a arc around her branches, like those shown in the picture below, taken today. The rest of the yard is oblivious to this. The grass has that slightly overcooked August tint of brown. The daylilies, rose bush and daisy are cranking out new flowes daily. The hummingbirds hum while the swallows dive in and out of the garage.

When the maple bursts in a glory of red and gold, we will acknowledge that fall is here and winter close behind. But the unglamourous crabapple knows already that the days are running short.