Good morning. Fall officially begins on Tuesday, but evidence of the season seeps in more gradually.
Fading lightIn May, I grandly welcomed the longest unofficial summer: 2026 featured the earliest possible Memorial Day and the latest possible Labor Day, making for 15 full weeks between the two. Official summer is now also nearly gone, with the equinox arriving on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. Eastern. Even as the greenmarket down the street continues to teem with 10 types of tomatoes, even as I check every weekend’s weather report for the stray September beach day, there’s no disputing this week’s astronomical deadline. As Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem “Autumn Day” declares: “Lord: it is time. The huge summer has gone by.” The huge summer has gone by! The clues are everywhere here in the Northeast: the patch of red in the maple canopy, the afternoons that feel like the sun is showing off, like if it shines hard enough maybe we’ll overlook the evening’s surprisingly sharp edge. The equinox is an exact global event, the moment the sun crosses the celestial equator, but evidence of fall seeps in more gradually: a whiff of wood smoke here, a rustle of leaves on the sidewalk there. Soon, more sweaters than T-shirts. Soon, more inside than out. September’s drop in daylight is dramatic: 77 minutes lost by the end of the month in New York, 98 in Seattle. At 6:30 a.m., the bedroom’s still dark, day’s arrival feels reluctant. At 6:30 p.m., it’s so dim we turn the lights on and it’s instantly, inevitably dinnertime. It’s easy to envision Halloween, possible even to picture Thanksgiving, Christmas: We know the shape of this season, these shadows, this descending dark. Cozy or bust! Cozy or you’re gazing at a frost-tinged window, counting down till March, and that’s no way to live. There’s always a period of figuring out how to be in the new season, how to wear these clothes, how to structure a Saturday when dusk comes on fast. It feels weird at first and then becomes routine. The path the sun follows is called the ecliptic, and it’s always exactly the same: autumnal and vernal equinox, summer and winter solstice. Our own ecliptics are looser. Some years we hunker down early; soups and ciders before Oct. 1. Other years we hold out; let’s try to eat outside one last time. The longest possible unofficial summer is, like it or not, always followed by the longest possible unofficial winter. We change the clocks on the first Sunday of November, and this year that’s Nov. 1, the earliest possible fall back. Daylight saving time won’t start again until March 14, 2027, the latest spring forward. Rather than dread the long winter, as is my inclination, this year I’m festooning it with plans, with activities that I hope will give the weeks an energy they’ve lacked in winters past. I’ve joined a choir; I’m taking French lessons. I’m armoring up, pre-resisting the cold-weather blues. Just having these things on the calendar has bestowed the coming fall with intrigue. But I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still September. There’s still time to savor the season’s last gasp, the waning days of this longest, vanishing summer.
Politics
Artificial Intelligence
Around the World
Other Big Stories
This week, we wrote about Congress considering legislation to change the increasingly chaotic world of college sports. The bill would allow athletes to transfer schools only once without having to miss a season. Players would retain the right to compensation for their “name, image and likeness.” Critics say the legislation prioritizes the financial interests of the N.C.A.A. over that of players, and places restrictions on them that coaches don’t have. We asked you what you thought, and more than 400 responses poured in. Below are a few. — Daniel Altoojian Congress has bigger problems Seriously? Is this the role of the federal government? Don’t get me wrong, I am a die-hard U.C.L.A. fan — football and women’s basketball — but the last thing we need is the federal government’s involvement. — Stephanie Ashworth, Woodside, California Athletes should be students The current rules make a mockery of so-called college sports. The athletes are hired guns who have no real connection to the school. College athletes should be real students at the schools where they play. That means taking classes and meeting all the academic and other standards students have to meet. — Ted McClellan, South Portland, Maine Whatever happened to college as an educational institution? It’s time to create a minor league-type alternative for those who just want to get into the pros. Money and admission spots should be there for students truly seeking an education. — Karen White
Pay the players College athletes should be paid according to their market worth and have the freedom to work for other employers, just like other workers in this country. I say this as a devoted fan and season ticket holder of my local college teams. Fans will get over it and still cheer for the college team of their choice. — Paul Rozycki, Minneapolis, Minnesota Stay in (one) school Teams play better when they stay together, and last time I looked, football and basketball were not individual sports. — Susan, St. Louis, Missouri I enjoyed college sports much more when players would return. I learned the names of the players and looked forward to their prospects. I support restricting the number of transfers, and I even support limiting the amount of income that a transferred athlete can receive. — Omer Erdmann, Holly Springs, North Carolina
Film and TV
Music
More Culture
Introducing the Shows tab. A new place to find and follow podcasts in audio and video. Explore Shows in The Times app.
Easy Apple BuckleFor a dessert that makes the most of the new crop of apples hitting the market, Vallery Lomas’s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
