Summer Is Sliding Away

Summer is rapidly winding down. The beginning of Autumn, the vernal equinox, wherein day and night are equal length, is still five weeks away. The cooler weather and rain this past weekend are welcome relief from summer heat and drought and signs that Fall is not far behind.

Summer vacation from school is ending for students. A handful of school districts (including the largest, St Louis City) started today. Most private schools begin next week. The hours at Maple-wood Pool are reduced as lifeguards quit their jobs to return to college.

You may start hearing cicadas in the early daytime (in addition to the evening). Art, my 85 year old friend, has gardened and journaled about it for 45 years. He says that the first cicada predicts the first frost date 90 days after its initial "buzz". He heard his first cicada on June 21, so by his calculations the first frost will be September 21!

The St Louis social scene moves indoors with Autumn charity fundraisers. The season for hard core trivia buffs begins in earnest and will last for approximately six more months. Fall bowling leagues are forming at and other locations. Football pre-season games begin to crowd the weekend t.v. schedule.

We survived the first round of summer political ads. They are bound to become more numerous, more dirty and below the belt, and take up more commercial space as the candidates slog it out into November. Hopefully, like this summer's record heat, the ads will fade just as quickly from our memories.