Nature’s Clock Is Precise

Neither heat nor cold lasts beyond the equinox.

This year’s intense heat, which seemed as though it would go on forever, had completely subsided by around the equinox. Despite all the talk of abnormal weather, I am relieved to feel that autumn has arrived right on schedule.

On an evening walk, I spotted some red spider lilies in bloom.

Until just a few days earlier, we had been experiencing extreme heat, so even though it had eased, I thought the red spider lilies would surely bloom late.

But what do you know?

They were blooming all at once in all sorts of places.

Perhaps they respond more to changes in daylight than to shifts in temperature.

In any case, nature’s clock really is precise.

Flower photographs are more beautiful when taken during the day, but nighttime ones are not bad either.

These were taken beside the Gakushuin-shita streetcar stop on Meiji-dori.

Just as I was taking the photos, the last train bound for Waseda passed through the frame.

The exposure was low, so I was not able to capture it very well, but please indulge me.

Now that the red spider lilies have bloomed, before long the fragrant kinmokusei, another favorite of mine, will be in the air as well.

Autumn, with its shortening days, is not a season I particularly like, but I look forward to the fragrance of kinmokusei every year.

I can’t wait!