Here’s your sign

Here’s your sign

By Mark Leitheiser

Signs come in a lot of shapes and sizes and they can mean a lot of different things. Recently, I saw a sign that read, “If you’re looking for a sign, this is it.” Clever. Perhaps you’ve seen it too since, like most signs, it has been around for awhile. In 1970, The Five Man Electrical Band sang, “Sign, sign, Everywhere a sign…” on their hit song, “Signs”. If you were looking for a sign in 1970, I guess that was it.

Signs can also act as indicators or signals for something to happen. Looking for these signs is hardly new. The book of Genesis tells us that the Lord, “set the stars in the sky to give us signs and seasons.” A bit later, we are told that Gideon was looking for a sign from God when he doubted what was promised. From Genesis to 2023, signs, in many forms, have been part of our existence.

On a personal note, after a recent palm reading, my gifted chirologist, Madame Cookoo, asked me if my life insurance was up to date. Discouraged, I consulted an expert on the Zodiac Calendar who promptly informed me that my sign, Taurus the Bull, wanted to kick me in the head. I’m no expert but these do not sound like good signs.

Let’s face it: this whole sign thing can be a bit overwhelming. But if we can tap the brakes on our busy lives for a moment and just look around, we might see signs of a different sort. These signs are softer and more meaningful than the others for they are from Mother Nature, herself. These signs remind us that autumn has quietly settled upon us.

Oddly, the first signs of autumn actually appeared in early June, about three days after graduation. “Back to School Sale” these signs bellowed over the heads of smiling, perfectly-groomed children. Brightly colored signs pushed everything from socks to notebooks and everything in between. I think we can all agree that those Back-to-School signs arrived a little early but they were the proverbial first steps on the journey that brought us to more accurate signs today.

If we can ignore those overzealous school signs, the first half of summer takes a hands-off approach to let us enjoy baking ourselves in the sun while we can. By late July, however, things start to change as the undeniable signs of autumn start to appear.

The first real sign that autumn is taking up residence is the TV campaign for, “The Great Minnesota Get Together,” AKA the Minnesota State Fair. It is at this point that a teacher’s blood pressure and heart rate will begin to spike.

The State Fair may mean enjoying animal shows, enduring death-defying rides and eating insanity on a stick to most people. But to a teacher, it means just one thing: summer is quickly coming to a close. Soon, busloads of amped-up kids will be marching through the doors with fresh haircuts, new clothes and a nine-month sugar high which can reduce even the most veteran teacher to tears. When it comes to signs, the State Fair is the first to let us know autumn is on its way.

The next sign can be found along Highway 19 promoting the annual St. Andrew’s Fun Fest. It looks innocent enough, with empty picnic tables huddled south of the church, but even as the pies and hams are baking, autumn is creeping ever closer. The Fun Fest is a wonderful celebration but it also inadvertently serves as a sad farewell to summer with autumn peeking the corner.

And while the last days of summer are fading, there is no clearer sign of early autumn than rural Minnesota’s “rush hour” which forces drivers to navigate roads filled with combines, trucks, tractors, plows and impatient drivers–of which I am one. Throw in school buses filled with screaming children with their snotty noses pressed against the freshly washed bus windows and the signs are clear. Like a visit from weird Aunt Hazel from Iowa, autumn is at our doorstep whether we like it or not.

Of course, the best signs of autumn don’t come from us. To see why Mother Nature is still the undisputed champ of autumn signs, we need look no further than the warm color palette she has prepared for us. Already, the first golden hues of crops, ready for harvest, dance across our fields. Flames of red, yellow, and orange lick our hardwood forests as leaves retreat to their natural tones, giving us an overhead canopy burning with color.

Their work done, proud, weathered leaves will lose their grip and flutter helplessly to the ground where they will mingle with dead trees, grasses, and bushes to fill the air with the thick, fragrant musk of autumn, a bounty for the nose. Yet Mother Nature is hardly done with her sensual ambrosia.

The steady wine of insects has been replaced by the leathery rustle of cornstocks as they sway in rhythm with an autumn wind. Soon, our steps will crunch on a carpet of freshly fallen leaves as we scurry to complete our autumn chores.

And what of the weather? Warm, sunny days give way to crisp, evening breezes whispering in our open windows, reminding us that the best sleepin’ weather of the year has arrived. Cloaks of mist and fog rise like smoke in the morning before disappearing like ghosts in the fading autumn sun.

Yes, it’s time to pull out our sweaters and flannel shirts and step outside to enjoy the sensual smorgasbord Mother Nature has spread before us. One look around should make it clear that the beauty of autumn is upon us. But if you’re looking for a sign, this is it!