Rain and mist and drizzle on this the first day of fall. North wind, providing a soft sonic background--waves endlessly coming ashore and curling up amongst the rocks. Frequently, the sound of rain on the roof also in the mix.

Day of reading, naps, and contemplation interspersed with dog walks and a muddy bike ride to the marina.

I have a distinct (though typically vague) memory of rainy childhood days when a few of us neighbors would gather on a porch to play board games and snack on crackers and cheese. (I think that's where I developed my fondness for cheese and crackers, undiminished to this day.)

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"The recurring cycles of the year, rooted in "the pilgrimages of the sun," are-not simply entertaining phenomena, to be noted at our convenience and for our enjoyment, but signs that the cosmos is still intact, that we remain included in something larger and more reliable than our own short-lived enthusiasms. It is for this that we need to know that insects will hibernate, that turtles and warblers will migrate and return, that the tide will retreat, the ice let go, the earth tilt back toward the sun, and the grass reawaken."

—Robert Finch