Things are changing

We changed our clocks from daylight savings time to standard time last night. It beats me why our government insists on sticking with a system invented when all factories didn't have electric lights and used windows to let in sunlight for workers. But this post isn't about that or our government.
I like to garden. In fact, I'm a Master Gardener (courtesy of the University of Arkansas Extension Service). Yesterday and the day before, I began to get ready for winter. At my Master Gardener project, a group of us mulched plants and removed the summer annuals in preparation for planting winter ones. At home, my wife and I swept up leaves, weeded and I put in pansies for the winter.
The trees are changing and the leaves are falling. Maples make the prettiest show, especially here, among tthe pines and oaks. But the wild pear in the wood below our house has turned to orange. I usually notice it in the spring when white blossoms make it a candle in the bare woods. The lizards have disappeared from our rock garden and the acorns are dropping out of the oak woods, making walking up our back drive like strolling on ball bearings.
Days have become cooler. We can leave the windows open at night without smothering in heat and humidity. Since Little Rock has no ordinance against it, the smell of burning leaves can occasionally be scented on the breeze. Some of the birds are gone, already flown south for winter. Among those, the hummingbirds are most noticeable for their absence. I took the feeder down this morning. On the plus side, mosquitos are not in attendance. Bug gnats still manage to get up my nose.
Deer and pheasant seasons have begun in many states. The modern gun bear season opens here Monday. I don't hunt anymore. Well, I plan on trying to bag a pheasant in Kansas next week. But my deer and elk hunting is over. Both my son and son-in-law provide me with game when their hunts are successful. And the meat is already dressed and butchered into cuts for cooking. It's even better than buying meat at the grocery since they don't ask for money (well not often).
All those leaves are falling on our drive and into our little water feature. That means sweeping, dipping, cleaning and "sucking" them out of wherever they aren't wanted. That sucking is something that I managed to get Stihl to do for me. By turning their blower around, you can make it remove leaves from places that are inconvenient to blow. We still have to pick the leaves out of the lavender bushes and rosemary. The rosemary, by the way, is blooming again. Pretty purple blossoms that you don't notice at first.
Sage, salvia, roses, Japanese anemone are all blooming. Our front garden has all of those and looks quite patriotic with red, white and blue waving waist high.
Of course, the kids are back in school. Since I'm fairly old, this has only one effect for me... the traffic jams start about three in the afternoon and go on until the end of rush hour. Those yellow buses seem to be everywhere.