End of Summer: Birds and Length of Day Tell the Tale

Sunrise at 6:23 this morning, sunset at 7:22, or 13 hours of daylight. The equinox is about two weeks away and the length of day is shortening by around three minutes daily. So far there are no trees nearby that have begun to change colour—too much rain in July, too much sun in August for them to consider flaming out yet, I guess—although a few have begun to do so north of the city where the temperatures a few night has been just above freezing.

Labour Day marks the end of summer vacation for many people, although since school here started more than a week ago, it seems to have ended already. The birds have got the message too. Last Tuesday evening a flock of geese flew over while it’s been at least a week or 10 days since I heard night hawks buzzing their way through the night. It’s a little early for the geese—I always figure Canadian Thanks giving, the second Monday in October as the highpoint for their migration—but the night hawks are right on schedule. Ever since I started paying attention to birds several decades ago, they’ve arrived around he 24th of May holiday and left before Labour Day. Perhaps the universe is unfolding as it should.