August

Sweat pouring from my brow, running down my upper lip, I am a glossy sweaty mess. I'm forced to pluck insects from my eyes at disturbing intervals as I walk down the mossy road I so often frequent. The strap from my bag has left a defined sweaty mark across my dark gray t-shirt.

August is, to the every-day observer, a summer month. The thermometers will often reach their peak in this month, and it's a popular beach month. But to the naturalist eye, August is the very beginning of an autumnal shift. Wildlife are eating into overtime, flocks of swallows are gathering on telephone lines for annual migration, and the summers harvest of berries and nuts becomes a popular food source.

Ignore the temperatures. Many birds are fledging the last of their broods hurridly, and readying themselves for a shift southward. The white-tailed buck's velvety antlers have nearly completed growing for the fall breeding season, and by the end of the month their summer coats will be shed, and the velvet will be rubbed from their hardened antlers.

Don't let fall sneak up on you this year. Enjoy these last few threads of summer before it's gone completely.