Autumn is my favorite season!
I can feel hints of autumn in the air. Especially in the morning and evening, when it's cooler. But even in the middle of the day, when it's pretty (可也) hot, I feel a difference in the air. The air is drier （からっと） than usual. The sky is clearer and bluer. The contrast between the white clouds and blue sky is so beautiful. During the middle of summer the sky seems to often be a dull white, because of all the moisture in the air.
As I type these words, I can hear the kind of cicada (セミ）that cries at the end of summer, called "tsukutsukuboushi". (I can't find the name in English.) Soon we won't hear the summer song of the cicadas. Instead we will be serenaded with the more gentle music of the crickets (コオロギ) and bell crickets (鈴虫）.
Another early sign of autumn are the scarecrows (案山子）in the rice paddies (田んぼ) in my neighborhood. They don't actually seem to be very effective (効果的, but I love to see them every year. There is something warm and comical about them.
Here are a some Rose of Sharon flowers blooming now in my garden.
(How do you say this flower in Japanese?)
What signs of autumn have you noticed recently