Last Breeze of Summer

Dusk has arrived thereby ending the last day of summer – not forever, one hopes, but for 9 months. There are parts of the world where this is a welcome relief. I don’t live in one of those parts. On my 5 acres there are 3 months of t-shirts and swimsuits, 6 months of longsleeves and sweaters, and 3 months of winter coats and gloves. Already this month the overnight air is chilly most nights while the leaves in the trees slow turn red. Warm days are few enough to miss them when they are gone. Accordingly, I went swimming today even though the water temperature (thanks to those overnights) is in hypothermia range; the pool will close this week. Much of the rest of the day, I spent by the picnic table in the still warm daytime breeze: “those lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer” and all that. Now gone.

Leaves still mostly green but trending red

The ancients liked the autumn. The crops came in, which was always a good thing. A plurality of modern-day Americans list autumn as their favorite season, though at 29% it isn’t by a big margin. I don’t mind it. The season isn’t actually harsh around here, and couple of the holidays are fun. Still, it’s hard not to be conscious of the slide toward winter. I’m more wistful about this time of year now than when young even though one might assume summer vacation gave summer a brighter glow then. I was one of those strange kids who actually liked school (after age 11 anyway), so I welcomed September (though school started a few weeks before autumn proper). As for winter, I didn’t have to pay my own heating bills back then or pay for my own broken pipes, so it didn’t hold much menace.

So, for the next 6 months the sun will spend more time below the horizon than above it. I won’t toast its departure. I don’t feel much like celebrating it. I have just the right spirits on hand for when it returns to dominance on March 19, 2020 however – and again on June 20.

The Cure – The Last Day of Summer