First Day?

Yesterday felt like the first day of autumn. I know we're technically a month away from the "real" first day, but at the end of the day I found myself thinking, "This is what autumn feels like."

After clearing out his closet of clothes that no longer fit, my husband found that he needed a few items for "back to school clothes" and since our freezer was finally empty from all the food that sheltered in ice chests during the "great broken fridge" episode this summer, we took off for Miles City to do some selective shopping, the last payday having been in May and the next payday a week off. On our way to town we passed great sections of blackened grasslands that recent fires had left. The western part of our state is still burning, but here the fires have died down. I fear it may be the first day of winter before all the state's fires are gone.

We found all the necessities and in addition to what we needed, we found a new pencil box, a new lunch box and a "stapleless stapler," back to school shopping at its best. After filling up with gas, which BTW was $.32 less than in our town, and washing the car, we headed home. Since we'd been in air conditioned places all day, it was a bit of a shock to step out of the car at home and realize how hot it was. But by the time we got the car unpacked and everything put away, it was cooling down. The day ended with a slight thunderstorm accompanied by enough rain to wet everything down, but not enough to register. For the first time all summer, we fell asleep without the sound of the fan in the window and had to pull the blanket up over the sheet. The first sign of autumn's approach. Mind you, the second day of autumn may be in October, but I'm calling yesterday the first.