There was a lot of talk about the arrival of autumn at church yesterday. It may have been because it was a gray day with some rain. It may have been because the temperature has been chilly in the mornings for several days. It may have been because the leaves are turning color. It may have been because members of the congregation are educated and know that the equinox and the official start of the new season are a week from today.

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons. Talk of the change of seasons might have been more prevalent because the sermon didn’t engender much comment or conversation. It might have been more prevalent because people are emotionally exhausted with all of the news of increasing fascism, confusing trade policy, increasing inflation, decreasing employment, immigration raids, deployment of military to U.S. cities, and a daily barrage of news. The change of seasons is a safe topic compared to many others that might come up.

The tilt of our planet means that either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere receives more illumination from the sun, except during the two equinoxes. Each spring and fall, the sun shines directly over the equator, giving roughly the same amount of light to both hemispheres. The equinoxes are the traditional times for the start of spring and fall. The word equinox comes from Latin and means “equal night,” referring to the times of sunrise and sunset. An equinox technically would be a day with 12 hours between sunrise and sunset. The tilting planet, however, combines with terrain and other factors to mean that the moment of equal day and night varies by location on the Earth.

Where we live, on the 49th parallel, the time of nearly equal day and night will come on the 24th or 25th of the month. We will, however, recognize the equinox along with the rest of the world on Monday, September 22. The variation of the length of days is a phenomenon of the nearness to one of the poles of the planet. People who live on or near the equator don’t experience much variation in the length of days and nights.

We are northerners, at least by US standards. The farthest south we have lived is Chicago, which is around the 42nd parallel. We are used to long days in the summer and long nights in the winter. The variation in the length of days and nights is significant enough for us to notice the differences in the places we have lived. Before our move to the 49th parallel, we lived near the 44th parallel in Rapid City, SD, for 25 years, and we really noticed the longer winter nights in our home here.

Longer winter nights also mean that the rate of change in the length of the day is more dramatic. We are losing more than 3 1/2 minutes each day now. That rate of change is enough to prompt us to think about the change of seasons. And, along with most of the rest of the country, the end of daylight saving time on November 2 will make the change seem more dramatic. On the day we shift our clocks, it will get dark before 5 pm, and we’ll have those early sunsets through the winter.

One of the places where the change in the length of days is apparent to me now that I am retired is that there is less time for outdoor recreation. Soon, there will be days when we take our daily walk after sunset. We wear reflective clothing and limit our walks to streets with sidewalks when it is dark. I also enjoy a bike ride first thing in the morning most days. Before long, that will mean waiting until after 8 to ride my bike. In the summer, I can go out at six or even earlier if I want.

The ways we react to the change in the length of the days are different than some of the animals we observe. The bees are settling down and preparing the hive for winter. Bees don’t hibernate, but they stick close to the queen when temperatures dip below 60 degrees. The hive shifts from relying on pollen and nectar brought in from outside to relying on the honey stored within. As one who harvests a portion of the honey, I give the bees a supplemental feeding of syrup in the winter to support them. The squirrels don’t hibernate, but they, too, rely on food that has been stored over the summer to sustain them in the cold of winter. Animals that do hibernate, like bears, are trying to store up as much fat as possible right now. They are eating voraciously. It is a good time to give them plenty of distance as they prepare for hibernation. Migrating animals are on the move. The Canada geese are starting to collect into larger flocks, and we see the V formations flying overhead. We haven’t yet noticed the swans and snow geese, but they will arrive soon. Trumpeter and Timdra swans in this part of the world are a sure sign that winter is approaching. They’ll start coming in early November.

Like the other members of the congregation, I joined in the conversations about the approach of autumn. I enjoy the change of seasons. I’m even looking forward to a few rainy and foggy days. The lawn has been dormant for a couple of months, but the green is starting to return. I didn’t have to water my outdoor plants yesterday as the rain was sufficient. However, I know myself well enough to anticipate the days when I will grow tired of the rain and cold and start to long for another change of season. When we lived in the Dakotas, we used to say that if you didn’t like the weather, all you had to do was stick around. It was bound to change soon. That applies here as well.

So I’ll count another season. I’ve collected quite a few in my life, enough to keep looking for the next one.