dates of the autumnal equinox

Yesterday, I lay on cool green grass and appreciated the shade as small children gathered armfuls of yellow and brown bouleau (birch) leaves and threw them up and all over me, to the embarassment of their adult companions. But the leaves and the children and my rare hour of no-responsibilities were all delightful (my own child being at a birthday party nearby so someone else’s responsibility for that moment). Heat, worn-out leaves, the impulse to seek out shade, grassy lawns covered with sprawling and tumbling people dressed in summer wear at all Paris parks…is it really almost autumn?