Okay, all you summer sun-worshippers, don't be packing away all your fun-in-the-sun necessities just yet. Although the next few weeks in our area will see the gradual transition from summer to autumn weather, it's not a "bang-and-it's-autumn" thing, but usually rather subtle changes that we barely notice.

Many mornings will have a slight chill in the air, and green leaves on some trees will change to non-green colors. Garden plants such as tomatoes, peppers and squash will begin withering and dying. Goldenrod stalks will turn from green to brown, valley fog will become an almost daily dawn phenomenon, and large flocks of blackbirds and starlings will dot telephone pole wires in early preparation for their later migration south.