As summer's grip loosens, New Orleans plants may get 'second wind' before fall comes in November

Have you noticed? The weather is changing. It's subtle, but when you walk out in the morning the air feels just a bit more comfortable.

We experienced our longest day of the year back in late June, and since then the days have been getting progressively shorter. We're beginning to feel the effect. In early to mid-September, we often begin to notice that the sun is coming up a little later and it gets dark earlier.

Labor Day is often touted as the traditional “end of summer.” Maybe it is up in Maine. But still, if you squint just right, you can almost see the end of our long and brutally hot summer.

According to the calendar, fall will officially start on the fall equinox on Sept. 22. For us, though, the traditional fall period is not a time of harvest, falling leaves and winding things