Just one last sip before I go, because it will be a long time before I return. Here in the eastern portion of the midwest (Northeast Ohio, US), hummingbirds leave in about the middle of September. Flowers are still blooming while a few of the leaves are starting to turn. It's that last bit of summer that we hold on to, dearly, grasping what we can, one last time, sometimes many one-last-times well into October, or even November some years, before everything changes, before it turns cold and we stay inside, more and more. We drink it all in one more time before we migrate indoors for the winter. Then winter descends, with its picture perfect scenes and muted colors, while we wait for spring to return, and the return of the hummingbirds in the early summer.