Is Summer Over ?

CAN IT BE ?

Is It Official ?

do the fish know it ?

WALLPAPER:  GREEN GRASS GONE

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.. Some of us have not mastered the art of conversing with our thumbs.
.. Some of us have failed to mark time in conventional manners.

CONTEMPORARY MINDSET

.. Some of us refuse to let our left leg atrophy under the convenience of an automatic transmission.
.. A few of us have lived long enough to be able to mark the transition from the election of primarily public servants to the election of primarily greedy power mongers.
.. It seems to have happened around the time of WWII, (and shortly thereafter.)

COULD IT BE ?

.. Some of us still take the time to read a newspaper or two. We're befuddled by the perception that news can be thoroughly explored in sound bites and 140 characters.
.. Occasionally, some of us bump into a print reporter that uses the page to express things that defy condensation. Of the several we've encountered over 15 lustra one has just penned a bit of whimsy that gives pause to thinking about this time of year.
.. Below we quote extensively from Rick Hampson, (LINK-R.)

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.. Summer, we‘re told, ends unofficially on Labor Day, officially on the fall equinox (Sept. 22) and psychologically on the night before school starts.

.. Americans don’t agree on summer any more than they agree on politics. But summer’s a state of mind, and you don’t need a calendar to know when it’s over.

TOP UP IN THE SUN

.. Summer’s over when you unpack the beach bag and find the coconut oil has solidified. It’s over when you take the boat out of the water and still pray for Indian summer. It’s over the first time you leave the top up when the sun’s out. The first time you’re once again stuck behind a school bus.

FIRST SNOW ON THE PEAKS

.. You know summer’s over when the first leaf falls and the harvest moon rises, when the mosquitoes stop biting and the dogwood turns red.

.. You can see the end of summer: Geese in chevron flight, Copperheads sunning on the rocks, Snow on the peaks, Crispy nights, Frost on the windshield, and Dead dandelions.

FOOTBALL

.. You can hear the end of summer from the high school football field — the grunts and whistles of pre-season practice, the wobbly notes of the marching band drilling into form.

.. For some of those old enough to remember 16 summers ago, Sept. 11 will always mark the end of the season, and so much else.
.. You can even taste the end of summer – pumpkin coffee, pumpkin Oreos, pumpkin vodka, pumpkin pie and pumpkin beer.

.. But summer’s not really over until the last cricket chirps, the last tomato is picked and the last weed is pulled.

PUMPKIN  PIE

.. It’s not over until the last race at Saratoga. Not until the final out — even if it comes in the World Series in November.

.. On the Gulf Coast, the end of hurricane season — Nov. 30 — is more important than the end of summer, as Harvey has made all too clear.

.. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming it’s the stream of pickups filled with firewood rolling down into town. In West Yellowstone, Montana it's the whispers of big fish leaving Hebgen Reservoir and entering the tributaries for sexual orgies.

.. It’s over in the Willamette Valley of Oregon when the black-eyed-susans lose their petals and the basil turns to black slush.

MORE  FOOTBALL

.. There are people for whom summer always ends early: school administrators, nurses and teachers, whose work begins before the first day of class.
.. Their summer has the rhythm of a weekend. June is a month of Fridays, July is a month of Saturdays, August a month of Sundays.

.. Whenever and wherever it occurs, summer’s end can, for some, come as a relief. For others it's a season of anticipation.

.. For many of us, it’s gotten harder to know when summer ends. Some of the old signposts are useless. People never used to wear white or wear shorts after Labor Day. Now they wear both year round.

.. Another end-of-season marker was the end of summer reruns and the arrival of the TV Guide "Fall Preview" (a fixture since the magazine’s founding in 1953) with the lineup of new shows. Now first runs and reruns are chronologically interchangeable.

FOOTBALL  ??

.. Some signposts have moved forward. The college football season has already kicked off with five games last Saturday, including one (Stanford v. Rice) played in Sydney, Australia, where it’s actually winter.

.. Other signposts have moved back. Once, the change in a vacation area after the tourists left was dramatic and melancholy.
.. In West Yellowstone there was a genuine break in the tourist crowds. The Fall and Winter were gentle respites from the frenetic hustle and bustle and press for tourist dollars.

.. But now the tourists never really leave. The commercially-inspired “shoulder season,’’ with its discounts and festivals has helped to blur the once-distinct summer terminus.
.. We subscribe to the school of thought that allows us the freedom to adjudicate the seasons. “Summer is over, when we say it’s over.’’

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GULPERS AND GULPEES

.. Around here the green grass is gone, there is a dusting of snow on the high peaks of the Continental Divide, we have cool nights - BUT - it's 80° F.
.. There are still Callibaetis and gulpers in the morning. There are still hoppers in the afternoon. The Firehole River is just good instead of great for catching. The neighbors are enjoying Fan Creek. Some folks are even getting up early and heading to Slough Creek.
.. The feather merchants are still experiencing good sales and visitation. Some are pushing Fall with special events, (LINK-BS.) 

A PAIR TO DRAW TO

.. Although the catch rate is up in the estuaries around Hebgen Reservoir, there are no reports of giant submarines in the tributaries - YET!
.. For us and most of the neighbors it is still Summer. It is rare to see a September as gentle and compliant as this one. The high country is full of capricious weather and we count ourselves lucky that the BBQ is not sputtering with rain or snow on this Labor Day.

TIE IT ON

.. We are looking forward to a week of sunshine, high 70's and fantastic afternoon catching.
.. As the waters on the west side of Yellowstone National Park cool we predict that there will be good pub talk arising over the next 10 days.
.. Fall fever is in the air. Summer is hanging on. The sky is blue and the sun is bright. The worm hasn't turned.
.. We'll keep you informed.

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WALLPAPER:  CHICKEN AND SWISS SANDWICH