Meandering, Perception, The Quiet Night

Black Walnut in Hull

 1. I ventured for a little walk this evening and picked up three things:
-A lone red leaf. I looked up to see where it might have blown down from. I sense autumn is just around the bend
-Queen Anne's Lace runs rampant in the field
-A newly fallen Black Walnut. It's the biggest one I've ever seen.
2. I looked beyond the vineyard to the Peaks of Otter in the distance. The mountains are still covered in the dense green forest of summer. In my mind's eye I see the trail and I imagine her walking, walking, walking...and I will never view these mountains the same way again.
2a. I heard on the news last week that the government has banned drones from the Appalachian Trail. I have to think about that, that such a thing is even necessary.
3. The humidity went away and the air is friendly tonight. There's not even the slightest breeze and it looks like the trees and leaves are holding their breath, waiting for something. I'm on the porch, watching and waiting, too. I feel like a sentry; a sentry for nightfall.
3a. And I wonder how a field full of chirping crickets is a quiet sound, but it is.