How did fall get around back here so quickly? Here I am making my annual autumnal trip around Hog Island, drawn by the huge fall tides of 11 feet flooding the marshes for a few days. Everything is on the move. Three great blue herons rise to get away from me, and land farther on. A dozen great egrets poke around for minnows. A sure sign of fall, the kingfisher drops down from low branches chattering away, the ducks pinned on a fog-smudged sky. The seagulls wheel down and up. Straight clear light peels out of the pine trees; the emblematic reminder of colonial falls, the Choate House sits in solitude on the edge of the island, much as it did in the 17^th century. The cormorant appears much bigger than its middling size. All a satisfying feast for the senses, as the snowbirds prepare to fly south.