Moving into September

Yesterday was my ten-month surgery landmark. It seems as if it was much longer ago now. I'm looking forward to the doctor appointments this week where I'll find out how much lung capacity I have left and will verify (I hope) that the CT scan shows that all is well.

Tropical storm Hanna blew through yesterday. That turned out not to be too much trouble. We did get some rain which was a plus. It is beautifully clear this morning and I just got back from my walk. Looking back, I do three miles in the morning now in about as much time as it took me to do less than a mile this time last year. Some of that is just due to routine but I think it must be a good sign.

The river was not too high this morning. I have seen it much higher after a summer thunderstorm. It may well have been higher yesterday, of course. On my way down I thought about how long it has been since I've seen a heron. I didn't expect anything today since the water was still moving at a good clip. As I was going over the bridge, though, a bird let loose with a very loud, raspy call. I couldn't see it in the darkness but when I got home I checked some bird song websites and sure enough, it was a heron. That was reassuring somehow.

Autumn is obviously on the way now. There are a lot of crisp leaves along the sides of the road (OK, maybe not so crisp this morning) and the autumn flowering clematis is in full bloom. Everything smells like autumn, my favorite season.

It occurred to me just this morning that my birthday is coming up in just under two weeks. What a wonderful time I had last year with the trip to Colorado with my family. There was a lot looming at that time. This year should be a quieter time, a more typical birthday. I'm glad to think that nothing out of the ordinary will seem necessary.