The Cool Under-Currents of Fall

The weather was absolutely beautiful today. There was very little wind and as I walked the dog, I could smell the faint hint of sweetness in the air from the vegetation changing into the season's fashion colors. As I walked along the road, just the mere act of walking was the only breeze in my face - it was that still. The dust hung around the combines and harvesters churning and chomping away at the beans. Huge dust clouds grew larger and larger and caused a fog for vehicles to go through - almost like a dance of smoke as they left swirls in the clouds as they passed through. I could smell the chaff while at the same time I could feel the brief under currents of cooler air swirl at my legs and tease the hair around my face. I could feel the layers of temperatures making little thermalclines in the air that would disappear if I tried to walk through them again. Like a ghost that teases you just for a moment only to disappear. It was very quiet. I don't know why, but I really couldn't hear the machines at work. Every so often a Blue Jay would scream "thief! thief" to break the silence. It startled the dog. The dog is so intent on all of the smells and odors wafting from the ground's dimples and dips he doesn't hear or see much. The Blue Jay made him look up from his interest at the moment. Only one sense used as a time, perhaps? His nose so busy, with his chuffing and snuffling. What must it be like to have such a nose that can decipher 100 times more than I can? What would that world be to us? How would we be different? Would we no longer pay attention to things that mean nothing? Would we communicate as he does, greeting everyone he meets with his eyes, then his nose to see if someone is friend or foe. Would that we could be so lucky and how simple life would be. He missed a little creature as it busied itself finding shelter from his approach. The dog, so intent on the smells of the ground, failed to see it. He could tell it had passed by. He followed the little one's trail with much animation and enthusiasm gathering in the fresh scent of the invisible trail it left behind a few moments earlier. Funny how hounds miss the visual cues. The steel shed made little ticks and squeaks as the warmth left the sky and turned a crimsom orange to match the leaves. Fall is here to stay but still has much to show us in her spendor.