Almost Autumn

It's almost autumn here in North Dakota. You can tell it's just around the corner, maybe as soon as next week when they expect a cold front to swoop in (thanks Canada) and hang around for a few days. It probably won't be a hard freeze, but nighttime temps are expected to dip into the upper 30's by midweek.

A few leaves on random trees started sporadically yellowing as soon as a week ago, and now there's a noticeable, yet slight yellowish tinge on the outer layers of most of the trees, like the leaves are trying to change, but the tree is resisting the effort, unwilling to relinquish its grasp on summer. And now, every day brings more fallen leaves to the ground, not a ton, but just enough to be noticeable and portend the great leaf shedding to come.

The past two weeks that I've been back here have been phenomenal weather, warm and pleasant, with very little rain. Everyone says that this great weather has been to make up for what was a cold, rainy summer (by North Dakota standards at least). And even though the past few days have made it above 80 degrees, there's been a difference, the heat doesn't last as long, and begins dissipating in early evening, and the sun just doesn't pack the same midday punch that I felt even last week.

I'm hoping that the majority of fall colors can hold off for a few weeks. My Dad's coming to visit the first week of October, and he always enjoyed fall colors, especially his yearly Columbus Day excursions to New England to visit when I lived back there. I'll have more on my Dad's visit, we're still planning his itinerary, but it already involves a UND football game (The Potato Bowl!!!) and hockey game.