If you crack open the current issue of San Francisco magazine — it’s printed on paper! — and look inside at page 28, you’ll find a rather stunning photo by Gregory Cowley that shows Shuttle Endeavour soaring over Bernal Hill on the morning of September 21, 2012.

Remember that? It was a glorious day less than two months ago, yet somehow it already feels like ancient history. That may be because the arrival of Endeavour in the skies above Bernal kicked off a rather momentous and intense series of events that will make the Autumn of 2012 memorable for a long time to come. Let’s review the highs and lows of the last few weeks:

• Star Sighting: Space Shuttle Endeavour
• San Francisco Giants Win NL West
• David Campos Votes to Retain Ross Mirkarimi as Sheriff
• Giants Win National League Championship
• Fire on Andover Street Displaces Three Families
• Giants Win World Series
• Fire on Moultrie Displaces One Family
• Hurricane Sandy Devastates New York, New Jersey
• National Election: Barack Obama Wins Second Term

Against a backdrop of all that otherworldly news, it seems appropriate that this period began with the spectacle of a spaceship circling lazily over our neighborhood. We have enjoyed euphoric highs and witnessed poignant reminders that our bliss is fragile. It’s wonderful and exhausting, all at the same time.

That’s why there’s solace to be found in the transcendent rhythms of geography, geology, and the ebb and flow of the seasons. Neighbor Ros put that in perspective nicely yesterday…

… with a coda provided by her photo of Bernal Hill, where it all began:

PHOTOS: Shuttle Endeavour by Gregory Cowley via San Francisco Magazine (Hat tip: Genevieve . Bernal Hill, by Yarrcat