(Last Day of Summer)
Cranefly orchids;
Elegant harbingers
Of autumn.
Sabishī composed this summer’s-ending hokku.
His photo of the gorgeous cranefly orchid was taken at Beaman Park, TN.
For more information about the ancient hokku calendar and why we consider this day to be the last day of summer, then go here.
Taka Shimono 
These beautiful, delicate, stunning wild orchids begin flowering at the end of summer, becoming a harbinger of the cool, dark days of fall. According to the ancient solar calendar, fall begins on August 1st and the equinox, in September, is the middle of fall or the heart of fall, and fall will end at midnight on Halloween night.
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Such an unusual flower. A wonderful hokku!
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I didn’t know that the 1st of August was considered the beginning of fall.
Such a beautiful orchid!
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To many people it is the 1st day of fall. Even Shakespeare got it right; one of his plays occurs at Midsummer, or the summer solstice, the middle of summer, around June 21st, so even he recognized that six weeks later, August 1st, would be the beginning of harvest season or the 1st day of fall.
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Good old Shakespeare! 😀
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