On the verge

It's been several weeks since our last rain, and the heat here has been near or over 100 degrees with high humidity since the last week of July. Yet on Sunday, a gusty wind seemed to push the moisture out the air, leaving behind only the baking sunlight.

Today as I was walking home from the gym, I turned the corner into our neighborhood and glanced up at the sky. Between the overarching trees I could glimpse a startlingly deep blue, cloudless expanse. It was a rich color that I associate with the weather turning colder.

Under the shade trees, the temperature was perfect. In the midst of the summer's worst heat, I could almost taste the approaching autumn. It's less than two weeks until students arrive on campus. It will be months before even a light sweater is needed in the dead of night. But fall is coming nonetheless, and even the dog days of August can't hide it forever.