......how I know

Yogis,
It was the box I knew would come. It always does. Opening my weekly CSA share I find it bursting with freshly picked local fruits and vegetables and realize this is the one. Tomatoes, corn, large juicy peaches, cucumbers and an assortment of brightly colored peppers spread across my countertop. The box that lets me know it is August.

Who needs a calendar when the world speaks in flavors, colors and smells. What are the things that let you know its August?

My alarm goes off to start my early morning routine. My eyes open to discover that it is indeed still dark. Ugh. Always a shock the first time but this will be the new norm and I will adapt. Sitting up from savasana at the end of an evening class we all notice how the room is shadowed. The shift in light winks to let me know it is August.

The bird song is quieter. Nesting and raising of young is complete, opening an empty space in the air which is immediately flooded with the hum of insects. A daytime chorus which gives way to the nighttime performance. I open my window to be serenaded to sleep and realize that nature holds the original patent for today’s popular sound machines. And it’s free! The vibration tells me its August.

July feels sharper to me. A blinding sun and an intensity to the heat. Gardens in bloom with vivid flowers and a party atmosphere in the air. August somehow seems softer. A month who whispers we are now on the other side of the peak.

Is that a cool breeze I feel?

Where early in the summer I spent hours on my knees trimming and weeding, making sure everything was tidy, the garden is now lush and wild. Overgrown with goldenrod towering over bergamot which leans into spider flower. The echinacea flower heads quickly drying which draws in the goldfinch who love the seeds. I know it’s August when my garden takes care of herself.

The first fallen leaves dot the grass.

I know her well,
SARAH