Summer is short
by Carol Dunn
HUERFANO- I think something is wrong with our cottonwood trees. Some of the leaves are turning yellow. No, they can’t possibly be turning because of fall. It just turned summer a couple weeks ago, didn’t it?
Let’s face it folks, some of us have had indigestion that lasted longer than summer does in Huerfano County. The kids are already back in school and Labor Day flew by while I was squashing adobe bugs on the sidewalk. The Wooly Bear caterpillars are scurrying for their winter hiding places. The tomato plants are starting to look scared.
Quite possibly when God was divvying up summer, the Huerfano County contingent thought he said “dummer” and they said, “no, no, we don’t want any more of that.”
You can tell when summer starts around here, because the wind stops blowing. Well, ok, it doesn’t blow as much. Summer is the time when the cow patties thaw in the pasture and dogs go roll in them. It’s the time for picnics and grasshoppers and hail and burning hot dogs on the grill. Summer is that way-way-way-too-short season when a woman can do her hair and walk outside, and 15 minutes later it doesn’t look like a vulture got stuck in it (unless, of course, it was supposed to look like that).
Summer clothing sales are wasted on us. When would you wear the stuff? During the hot weather, you say? Ok, that lasts a day or two. Then summer’s over, and it’s time to pack the summer clothes away until next year. Matter of fact, a knowledgeable rancher told me fall’s going to be early this year. I’m thinking, early? If it gets any earlier, we might as well skip summer altogether and go straight from one vernal equinox to the next. Why torture ourselves with visions of sitting out on the deck at night and watching for falling stars without wearing a parka?
We have family in Tucson and Las Vegas and they are thrilled to come to Colorado during what is labeled summer on the calendar. They rave about how nice and cool it is. They don’t wear jackets in the evening because they want to experience that wonderful coldness before they go back to the stifling heat. I guess we know how they feel. Those two hot days we have in July leave me desperate for the below-zero temperatures in January. NOT!!
