The hummingbirds have all but left the homestead. I kept one or two small feeders up for the stragglers heading south. I saw one at mid-week but the rest have taken nature’s cue and left for warmer destinations.

I have to say I miss those little birds. They provided us with so much entertainment in the early morning hours and again just before dusk. At one point, there was a frenzy of activity with up to 10 hummers flying about the feeders.

The changing of the seasons is all around. The leaves are falling fast, and some trees have managed to display their autumnal colors. However, even with the rain this week, the leaves have been dropping like crazy due to the drought-like conditions. I hope they retain their natural beauty for the many leaf peepers who visit our state each fall.

I have to admit I am looking forward to a sweater day after months of shorts and sandals. The end of summer signals so many changes. The playgrounds and ballfields are vacant during the day as kids are back in the classrooms.

Those big yellow buses are once again traveling throughout the Ohio Valley. Please be mindful of students getting on and off the school buses. There is no excuse for blowing past a stopped school bus. None.

Swimming pools are dotted with fallen leaves instead of happy swimmers. Lifeguards have long since left their posts for school or other pursuits.

All those delicious fruits of summer are being replaced with fall choices of apples and pumpkins. Fruity cool drinks are being set aside for pumpkin-spiced lattes. If pumpkin is your flavor of choice, you can find anything and everything pumpkin at the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival this weekend.

Next weekend, hordes of people will head to Oglebay Park for the annual Oglebayfest while others will travel to Wellsburg for that city’s Apple Fest. Just look around your area, and you will find a festival of some sort as temperatures begin to fall.

Goodbye, summer. You will be missed. Hello to autumn and all the wonderful things it has to offer. We’ve been waiting for you.

Heather Ziegler can be contacted at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.