The humidity broke briefly. A drier cooler breeze blew the hazy sky open and a vibrant blue peeked through, and two kids played.

When that breeze brushes back the hair and you see that blue, you know harvest season nears. Corn around here is harvested during the Dog Days of Summer. But as the days shorten and summer relaxes to allow fall a modest say in weather patterns, peanuts, cotton and soybeans take the cue and change, maturing the crop that has built inside them since planting in spring. Southeast farmers modulated conditions as best they could, from planting to in-season care, but now they clean and ready pickers (and their crews) for harvest.

Political personalities, opinionmakers and policy shifters far removed from the farm render good and bad decisions, which can harbinger dramatic changes. But that’s going to be what it’s going to be. For now, it’s time to turn inward for our harvest. Because without capturing a just harvest, well, none of that other stuff really matters.

It seems Southeast growers might pull in some good yields this year, but that could change quickly. We’ll see what change-ups the Gulf of Mexico throws our way.

(Update Sept. 12: This blog post was written before Hurricane Florence brought great threat to the Virginia-Carolina region.  Prayers and thoughts go to our friends, family and readers in that region as they prepare to face again a potential disaster.)

Some things we change, and some things change us.

I turn back to the two kids playing together in a backyard under that late-summer, blue sky, and I would like to stop time — would like to hold change at arm’s length. But that’s foolish to try even if I could.

A very wise old man once told me, with a cocked eyebrow and wry smile, “The thing about children, your children growing up, is there is always something to look forward to.”

I guess the same message can apply to any activity you plan the best for, nurture until the heart aches and then let go to see what the seasons bring.

Harvest settles across the Southeast once again.

Good luck. Take care, and thanks for reading.