Announcing the autumnal equinox

Last night's bright, almost full moon in a cloudless sky seemed designed to announce today's autumnal equinox. Tonight, the sun crosses the equator, heading south, and today's daylight and night will be evenly divided.

The early morning chill, which we welcome into our homes with open windows, hints that fall is upon us, despite daytime temperatures approaching or into the 90s. The midday heat may be more like August than late-September, but the evenings and early mornings are refreshingly cool. Already, the oaks around our home are shedding their leaves, and soon I'll be up to my knees in leaves as Saturdays turn into raking days.

The lack of rain has turned yards and flower beds into desert-like dust bins, and a rake stirs up little sandstorms of dry debris. Without a change in the clouds, this fall will be tinder-dry, and the threat of forest fires and grass fires will loom over each day, like a torch poking at a kerosene spill.

As the daylight grows shorter and the night grows longer, the unseasonable temperatures will abate, the cool evening gradually conquering the day's heat. Soon, the night will arrive early, helped along by the change to standard time, and the darkness will envelope our off-work hours. Winter's chill will follow in time. Don't be surprised if this winter brings temperatures low enough to balance the summer's harsh heat. And we would welcome some rain or snow to dampen the thirsty dust.

On this day of equality between daylight and dark, we will enjoy the daylight that remains, knowing that it is slipping away silently into dark winter nights.