Seniors today get reminded about fall prevention even as most come to realize that the ground is harder than you remembered from your youth. Other realities: climbing back up is more work than before, and the kinds of things that trip you are smaller and less obvious than before. The goal then is to move safely, but always land as softly as possible.

In the season’s lengthening shadows Bluecircle sand has begun to collect its first leaves, mostly maple and cottonwood. The dew has become heavier with cool nights and wet grass persists until almost noon. Ducks that mate in Fall rehearse their head-bobbing dances on the lake below and every day more trees show color. A late-blooming summer squash is gambling to nurse its first fruit before cold weather breaks.

Nearby, the din of heavy equipment sounds nearly every day. Several more of the century-old lakefront cottages and their tall trees have fallen to the wrecker. New construction that fills the gaps will create the only shade likely to be seen on these properties for many years. And once the clatter of the builders, roofers, cement workers and equipment operators dies away the routine quiet of this vacation home neighborhood will return.