Duskfall

Kids come back to college at the end of August, but night comes back into its own at the end of September, so between freshman orientation and the equinox is an odd month: End of summer? Beginning of fall? In a garden, it’s the home stretch.

Gardens begin cold and bare. Drained soaker hoses lie like discarded ropes or dead snakes. When the compost pile finally unfreezes, you spread on a dark hopeful layer. The first things to poke up are of course weeds, plus a few asparagus tips. On your knees, you plant peas. Poking the soil to make holes for seeds feels like sexual harassment, intimate and futile: It’s impossible to imagine anything coming of this.