Too Short, Grasshopper...

This big guy showing up on my window screen reminds me of the fact that summer seems to go by so quickly. I know I was complaining just last week about the heat this year. It's hard to sit in front of a torch and kiln in the heat of summer. I did a show up in the Philadelphia area this past weekend, and when I got back home, the signs that summer is almost gone are evident. I know before I left -- a mere three or four days ago -- I'd been sleeping on top of the covers with the ceiling fan on full blast, and now I find myself sleeping under the covers with no ceiling fan action at all. Soon I'll be closing windows, and after that configuring the storm windows. Then there will be that day when the heaters are used for the first time. Of course there have been signs of the end, such as the shear size of the big guy who's peeking into my window. And the tomatoes ripening on the vine. As summer progresses the insects get so loud here in the country it could be characterized as deafening. Those who think the country is quiet have never spent an evening in the country in late July and August. One has to practically shout to be heard above the din some evenings. The days still get "too" warm, but there is that hint of cool air in the undercurrent. And the nights cool off making for good sleeping weather. So my hope now is for a long, slow, lazy autumn, because conversely to summer ending so fast, it always takes such a long time to for it arrive again only to go through its seemingly disproportionately short timeframe. And while there's always the hope of an "Indian" summer, it is just one more sign that indeed, summer has gone.