Ushering in October

While eating breakfast this morning before the rest of my family woke, I heard an intense rushing, swooping, and pulsating sound from outside.  I lowered my spoon in my cereal bowl and moved toward our sliding glass door.

The sound's origin finally dawned on me as I lifted my gaze upward.  It was birds.  Thousands of birds were flying over our house, streaming ahead in synchronization.

Spellbound by the sight, I watched and wondered when the last birds would pass in this mighty swoop.  For over a minute, they came and came and came -- darting, rushing, filling they sky, and reminding me of Alfred Hitchcock or The Lord of the Rings scene when swarms of birds spied on the fellowship from their aerial view.

Somehow it seemed as if the birds were ushering in the month of October, and with it, the first real taste of fall.  As I walked across campus throughout the day, notably crisp air invited me to bury my hands deeply into my pockets and turn up my collar against the chill.

Welcome, October.  You've officially swooped into our lives.