SUMMER'S END
It seems hard to believe that summer’s over. We just celebrated Labor Day weekend, here in the U.S., so it must be true. Kids all over the country have gone back to school, and the College football season has started. Soon, in the parts of the country where there are big leafy deciduous trees, the leaves will start to turn and the air will be tinged with a chill. Scarves and sweaters will suddenly appear; jackets and mittens to follow. That glorious riot of autumn color will surrender to a winter world of muted shades.
Here in California, the desert in particular, it’s a land of endless summer. Still there are changes of season, albeit more subtle. It does cool down, yay! That means those of us who enjoy hiking can take to the trails again. The snow birds and tourists who fled from the summer heat will make their way back, drawn by blue skies and sunshine. As the prodigal sons and daughters of the desert return, the pace picks up. The ‘season’ here moves into full swing mid-January, but the streets and shops in Palm Springs, and throughout the Coachella Valley, will start to jump and jive long before that.
I don’t know about you but there’s a kind of wistfulness that goes with summer’s end. “Summer time and the livin’ is easy,” so goes the lyric from that Porgy and Bess tune paying tribute to the season. It’s not so much the weather, although that does matter. You wear fewer clothes in the summer, so easier to just pick up and go if the mood strikes you. Even here sweaters and jackets will put in an appearance soon. If it drops into the sixties that’s parka weather for a lot of us full-time, desert dwellers.
That’s hardly a reason to feel nostalgic about the passing of another summer. Maybe it’s a holdover from all the years when, as a child, summer felt like freedom. Remember how liberating it was? No school bells ringing, with sanctions for being a few minutes late. No juggling tasks all day long, then, coming home and worrying about getting your homework done. With all that free time, summer wasn’t just easy, but filled with adventure. California summers in and around San Diego were spent at the beach swimming or body surfing; at tide-pools, grunion runs, cooking out or camping out. Hiking up into the mountains and through canyons, you never knew what you might find around the next bend or over the next ridge. Those languid days lasted a long time—sunsets and bed times pushed back. Even after dark there were balmy breezes, not to mention fireflies, massive silvery moons and starry nights. All set up as the perfect backdrop to a first kiss.
Shorter, cooler, darker, busier—those are the promises of autumn days. No wonder we sigh a little as summer passes. We’ll adjust quickly, though. We have to because on the heels of summer’s end is a rush of celebrations—Halloween, Yom Kippur, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve...whew! That’s on top of back-to-school get-togethers, tailgating and the usual birthday and anniversary celebrations, wedding showers and baby showers. Did I say whew? So be it. Bring on the planning and prepping. We’re ready after those, long, lazy summer days. Let the partying begin!
Hey, wait a minute. Why not bring a hint of summer along? Let’s do potluck and Secret Santa’s instead of formal dinners and buying something for everyone at the school or office. When we carve the pumpkin or that turkey why not carve out a tiny wedge of time for doing nothing, or indulging ourselves in a good book and mug of spicy cider or mulled wine? If we can have Christmas in July, why not surf’s up in October or November?
Here in California, the desert in particular, it’s a land of endless summer. Still there are changes of season, albeit more subtle. It does cool down, yay! That means those of us who enjoy hiking can take to the trails again. The snow birds and tourists who fled from the summer heat will make their way back, drawn by blue skies and sunshine. As the prodigal sons and daughters of the desert return, the pace picks up. The ‘season’ here moves into full swing mid-January, but the streets and shops in Palm Springs, and throughout the Coachella Valley, will start to jump and jive long before that.
I don’t know about you but there’s a kind of wistfulness that goes with summer’s end. “Summer time and the livin’ is easy,” so goes the lyric from that Porgy and Bess tune paying tribute to the season. It’s not so much the weather, although that does matter. You wear fewer clothes in the summer, so easier to just pick up and go if the mood strikes you. Even here sweaters and jackets will put in an appearance soon. If it drops into the sixties that’s parka weather for a lot of us full-time, desert dwellers.
That’s hardly a reason to feel nostalgic about the passing of another summer. Maybe it’s a holdover from all the years when, as a child, summer felt like freedom. Remember how liberating it was? No school bells ringing, with sanctions for being a few minutes late. No juggling tasks all day long, then, coming home and worrying about getting your homework done. With all that free time, summer wasn’t just easy, but filled with adventure. California summers in and around San Diego were spent at the beach swimming or body surfing; at tide-pools, grunion runs, cooking out or camping out. Hiking up into the mountains and through canyons, you never knew what you might find around the next bend or over the next ridge. Those languid days lasted a long time—sunsets and bed times pushed back. Even after dark there were balmy breezes, not to mention fireflies, massive silvery moons and starry nights. All set up as the perfect backdrop to a first kiss.
Shorter, cooler, darker, busier—those are the promises of autumn days. No wonder we sigh a little as summer passes. We’ll adjust quickly, though. We have to because on the heels of summer’s end is a rush of celebrations—Halloween, Yom Kippur, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve...whew! That’s on top of back-to-school get-togethers, tailgating and the usual birthday and anniversary celebrations, wedding showers and baby showers. Did I say whew? So be it. Bring on the planning and prepping. We’re ready after those, long, lazy summer days. Let the partying begin!
Hey, wait a minute. Why not bring a hint of summer along? Let’s do potluck and Secret Santa’s instead of formal dinners and buying something for everyone at the school or office. When we carve the pumpkin or that turkey why not carve out a tiny wedge of time for doing nothing, or indulging ourselves in a good book and mug of spicy cider or mulled wine? If we can have Christmas in July, why not surf’s up in October or November?
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