The Big Fall

The month of August is fast drawing to a close and I’m not entirely happy about the quick change in weather here in my realm of the world.  In one night (yes, just one night) we went from perfect summer weather of bright sunshine, high 70 or low 80-degree days with light breezes, and starry-sky nights in the 60s — to day temperatures that struggle to rise above the 60s, cloudy skys and nights that are too cool too soon.

It’s like somebody threw a switch – summer on, and now summer off.  Since we had a very, VERY late start to summer, I was hoping for a long, drawn out goodbye. Cue Bobby Vinton music in your head – “I don’t wanna say goodbye to the summer . . . ” Okay, it’s really “for the summer”, but you get it.

It seems like I just finished hauling out all of my bird baths, lawn furniture, umbrellas, hoses and sprinklers. In just a few weeks, I will be putting them all back in storage for the winter. We barely had one full month of sustained overnight temperatures warm enough to support a thriving garden. At least I don’t have to fret over hours of canning and preserving.

Oh well, it’s been a crazy busy summer with friends, family and social events crammed into every weekend and a few full weeks. I might actually be looking forward to the slower moving, quieter seasons of autumn and (dare I say it) winter.

This is an unusual change for me, and I’ll reserve final comment for sometime in late January after I’ve been shoveling the snow for two or three months already and the predicted repeat of the polar vortex has me in the deep freeze. But, after so many years of detesting winter and glorifying summer, it might actually be a step in the right direction and a move toward more balance in my life; not only an acceptance, but also an appreciation of the winter season and all it offers.

Yeah, right. I’ll send a postcard from Florida!

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