First inklings of the end of summer in Jeziorki

Summer blends into autumn imperceptibly, but day-on-day intimations of the change can be observed and felt. The feeling of that first moment when one senses autumn's approach is called mono no aware by the Japanese, the beauty of transience, passed over me today. The sun set today at 19:36, the same time as it set on 16 April. Change is in the air.

Below: a white poplar stands behind a fallow field on which Jeziorki's dominant wildflowers, goldenrod (nawłoć) and tansy (wrotycz) grow in abundance. The little yellow button-shaped flowers of the tansy have just started turning brown. Before long, the flowers of both die leaving long dry stalks that snap in the hand.

Despite a few heavy showers this week, Jeziorki's ponds get dryer and dryer. If this drought continues, it will be possible to walk with dry shoe from one side to the other - it already looks that way (below), with the southernmost pond reduced to two puddles. However, the pond bed remains muddy. Oysters live here, and the gulls have fished many out, leaving shells on the dry margins.

The drainage ditches that funnel water from surrounding fields into the ponds are also dry. Below the ditch the runs under ulica Dumki.

This looks ominous - the old scrapyard on the site of the former aggregate yard by W-wa Jeziorki station has been levelled to the ground; gone are the bunkers, the electricity generating plant and the large depot. I worry that work on the Mieszkania+ housing estate for 8,000 people will begin soon. Below: clearing the ground.

Better news - seeing surveyors (geodeci) on ul. Karczunkowska raises my hopes for a pavement. Below: after heavy rains, the verge of the road is one huge puddle. Pedestrians are forced to choose - wade through the mud, or walk along the asphalt and risk being run over by speeding traffic.

Below: by the viaduct, the infrastructure of pedestrians and cyclists is more than adequate - and then suddenly it stops. There's 200m of pavement missing between here and the next houses.

Further north, work on the S7 continues at a great tempo. The temporary bypass routing traffic from ul. Baletowa is in place, allowing the contractor to start work on the viaduct that will carry the S7 over Baletowa. Ready by the summer of 2023? Maybe sooner...

Bonus shot: domesticated geese roam the streets of Jeziorki! There were three, now there are five!

This time two years ago:

Nikon's new mirrorless cameras - too big and heavy for me

This time six years ago:
Short, sharp diet proves I'm allergy-free

This time seven years ago:
More photos from Radom Air Show

This time eight years ago:
Twilight on ul. Karczunkowska 

This time 11 years ago:
First hints of autumn in the air

This time 12 years ago:
Slovakia - we were not impressed

This time 13 years ago:
Jeziorki - late August cultivation