The First Breath of Autumn

Today was another hot and sticky day. A stray thundershower skirted by us, but it only served to make the day more humid--more uncomfortable. We sweltered when the sunshine returned. 

Then, late in the afternoon the clouds reappeared and rapidly thickened. The sky darkened  as lightning began to flash in the northwest and the sound of thunder reverberated across the Ozark landscape. Suddenly, strong and refreshingly cool wind gusts blew in from out of the north, causing great trees to sway back and forth; signs fell to the ground and lighter objects, picked up by the gale, rose into the air above the treetops. 

The landscape darkened to the point of twilight and behind the tempest's darkest clouds was a sky of green--threatening and foreboding. All of a sudden and with another flash of lightning, the rain began falling in torrents, riding on the back of the powerful gale. Within moments wind-driven sheets of water assaulted the dry Earth. 

After ten or fifteen minutes had transpired, the storm passed and the rain slowed, leaving behind only a light sprinkle and the occasional roaring of thunder as it receded into the distance. The air however, was cooler--much cooler. A change had taken place.. 

Oh yes, this first cool spell will pass and within a couple of days, summer will return. But late this afternoon the first cool breath of Autumn abruptly made its way into Northwest Arkansas. The season of cooling winds, swirling leaves, death, decay and Jack o' Lanterns will soon be upon us.