So Long Summer

                                                                   Photo by A McLaughlin

 

     Today was the last day of summer and what a beautiful end. Summer was never my favorite season since childhood and this one ruined a lot of plans. Endless remodeling work on the house which cost lots more than I planned, no vacation for you honey. The one weekend I got to camp out in Florence it actually rained and I didn't get to see the stars because of cloud cover. Mostly though it was hot. I mean recording breaking heat all over the world followed by torrential flooding extremes. The climate crisis deniers just aren't doing enough to cover up this monstrous melting going on.

    I spent it getting ready for the coming deluge to signal the start of autumn. When I was a kid I dreaded Fall and the start of school while the parents were positively thrilled for some strange reason. I do enjoy the change of colors in the trees but the Northwest palette is muted with the evergreens with splashes of yellow and orange compared to the vibrancy of East Coast forests. Oh my God, can you say acid trip.

    Winter likewise is just cold, gray and damp. Waking to the silence and purity of a blanket of snow was always welcomed-- but not walking to school in it. I actually lived the cliche " When I was a kid I walked a mile to school through two feet of snow uphill, both ways." The school I went to was closed twice in the four years I lived in Erie. Here the entire city shuts down after a mere dusting. Wimps.

    I look forward to Spring and reawakening; the colors and the scent of fresh life. Most of all getting out of the house. It can't come soon enough for me, meanwhile I have to put a warm comforter on the bed, rotate the clothing and get out the rain gear. 

    See you all in March.