Tuesday was the day when I noticed the shift in seasons. Our community choir had its first rehearsal of the Christmas music. That's a season marker in itself. But that meant driving home at sunset. And I suddenly noticed how clear the sky was, and how the frantic pace of summer growing season is starting to slow. And there was time to breathe and take in the peace of the evening. I watched the crescent moon work it's way toward the horizon, pondered the reason for a particularly green patch of sky, and waited for the first stars to appear. It's autumn.

When I was a child growing up in Connecticut, the season markers were the maple trees turning red, and the cider presses going into business. By this time of year we could expect the first light frosts, and we walked a little faster to get to school in the morning because it was chilly. Here in Arkansas we're not really past air-conditioning season yet, although we've had a few days where I could leave it off until mid-morning. The leaves don't turn pretty colors, they just get drab and fall off. Seasonal markers are harder to find - natural ones anyway.

How is it for you? Are there markers in the natural cycle of seasons that you look for? Or have we gotten so immersed in our calendars and Palm Pilots that we forget that the earth has its own rhythms? Are we always on chronos or is there space for kairos every once in a while?