Outside today, the City of Portland cuts down summer one overgrown branch at a time; the branches that tickle your windshield as you drive down the street, the branches that hint at snapping with the first wind, the branches that make you duck as you walk down the sidewalk. They saw away at each offending branch then thrust the remains through a compactor.

The temperatures remained in the high 70’s this week. Hard to believe the rain will come. Hard to believe there’s a snow emergency in NY.

Down the street, the movie on the marquee finally changed. The reminder of the last film of summer, the one we could’ve seen but didn’t see, leaves.

They saw away and, yes, I actually wonder if this constitutes a taking. A substantial portion of that tree’s root structure was on our property! There goes the screen between my neighbors’ and my house. There goes your hand holding back the branches. There goes the measure of my height where I need not duck.

Funny how sometimes the weather just happens and sometimes we try to shape the seasons.