Somehow autumn

Today was Jonathan's first day of fifth grade.  If all goes as planned, and we actually get visas and paperwork and housing and flights and transportation and furniture and school and all those things you need to move to another country for eight months, then Jonathan will have two first days of fifth grade.  The second one will be at the beginning of February.  But this was Jonathan's first first day of fifth grade.

I thought it was a pretty good deal, having Jonathan go back to school here -- today -- in the middle of the summer.  It's great to have him back with the friends he loves and learning again so early in the year.  In the middle of the summer.

In fact, I was happily walking around with this idea that we are in the middle of summer all the way to and from school this morning.  And then I was happily driving around with this idea that we are in the middle of summer after that, as I headed up over the mountain to the local conference on the other side.  I was happily thinking it was the middle of summer right up until I looked into the mountain and saw...

... orange.

The green hills are covered with spots of orange.  As in autumn orange.  As in mid-summer is gone, and autumn has already touched the trees in mountains.  During the next few weeks, while we are peacefully sleeping in our beds with the windows open, appreciating summer, that sneaky autumn will creep down out of the mountains and start touching the trees in the valley as well.  Which means summer is over.

School started, and in the mountains, it is autumn.

How did that happen again?