I Was Thinking . . . Beginnings and Ends

September is often a starting time. Kids return to classrooms, athletic events begin, and churches change to their fall schedule. But September also signals the beginning of the end. Although we are bound to have some more warm days, we also know our summer weather is about done. 
Most people will have had their summer vacations and there won’t be another break until the holidays. Nature also makes us aware of the passing of another season.
Growing up on a farm made me aware of the cycle of life. Spring was for planting with hopes the seeds would sprout and grow into productive crops. New chicks, lambs, baby pigs and calves entered the world. Though it has been many years since I’ve lived on a farm, my agricultural nature remains. I still notice when the first green shoots of corn and soybeans emerge from the dark Minnesota soil. My farming now is confined to my garden and flowers, but I still till the soil, plant, and hope for the best.
For our area, this has been a pretty good year. Fields all around have grown and matured as hoped for. My garden and flowers were productive. But now they are showing signs of the end of the season. 
The corn fields are fully tasseled, and full cobs are visible. Here and there soybean fields are changing color. Our cucumbers are about done, the onions are out of the ground, and the beans have slowed production. 
The weeds I’ve failed to pull are producing seeds to annoy me again next year. While the daisies, geraniums, and marigolds are still flowering, many others are done for the season. The once vibrant hostas are beginning to fade and look kind of shabby. Another sign of fall are the many places with mums for sale.
This afternoon as I sat on the deck writing, I observed two small wrens hopping around the freshly cut grass. One was eagerly looking for bugs while the other simply followed behind. When the first one found a meal, it would turn and bring it back to the following bird. It soon became apparent that this was a parent and a youngster. While they both looked alike and could hop and fly, the young bird was still depending on the parent to find their food. This short summer season required the baby to hatch, grow, learn to fly, and now secure its own food,  all in a short period of time. The same was true of all that was planted. They were born from seeds, sprouted, grew, matured and now were about to produce their own seeds before they would die off with the first hard frost. While to us it is just another summer that passed to quickly, too much of the world around us, this was a complete circle of life.  
In September six year-olds begin kindergarten and seventeen-year-olds begin their senior year of high school. It is a  beginning and an end. How quickly those 13 years pass. As a teacher I saw many beginnings and ends. It is amazing to see the changes in those kids in such a short span of time. Summers are also times for class reunions. If you attended one recently you also know how quickly time passes and how those “other” classmates have changed. As plants and animals change during the season, so do we in our lives. And to many like me, this is our September of  life.
Did You Ever Wonder? - If the #2 pencil is so popular, why is it still #2?
Photo:  Ron Albright - I Was Thinking