Why am I seeing apples on trees and yesterday at the Rite Aid, Halloween candy? That’s just not right! Summer just got started! The older I get, the quicker the seasons pass. Well, not winter. That one tends to linger, doesn’t it? While sweet, sweet summer is like a blink of the eye.
Granted, this summer was a hot one. How hot was it? Well, it was so hot, you break a sweat just sitting there watching the tube. It was so hot, you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, bacon on the hood of your car: sizzling! It was so hot, my house has become a no underwear/no shoe zone. Just a loose house dress’ll do it. (For me, that is. This idea hasn’t exactly caught on with Charlie.) And honey, it’s definitely too hot to cook. Some nights, the most important ingredient for dinner is gas in the car. Let’s see, should I slave away over a hot stove or go to an air conditioned restaurant and let someone else do the cooking? That’s a no-brainer!
We’ve had the kind of heat where it’s best if you try to get your chores done early in the morning. (Though Charlie and me agree: 6:00am is a tad early for our neighbor, Gus, to be mowing his lawn. On a Sunday, no less!) Then you veg out for the rest of the day. Except, of course, for that mandatory trip to Dairy Queen. Well, you have to keep up your morale!
Scamp isn’t getting as much exercise as he’s used to. It’s definitely too hot for someone wearing a fur coat. Poor little fella! We try to take a good walk in the morning, then a quick, take-care-of-business jaunt in the afternoon. More than once I’ve given him a hose-down, just to help him cool off.
The Women Who Run With the Moose come up with a perfect way to beat the heat. Get this: diet Gatorade margaritas. I know! That’s our drink of the summer. Replace those electrolytes and sodium while having a good time. Sure, the first one’s kinda rugged, but after that, who cares!
Still, those blistering hot days make me appreciate even more our perfect Maine summer days. You know the ones I mean: high seventies, no humidity, clear and sunny. Grooving on the phlox and black-eyed Susans dancing in the breeze, the smells of new mown grass and barbecue in the air, the sound of kids shouting and giggling as they run through a sprinkler or ride their bikes past our house.
Happy Labor Day, folks! Let’s squeeze every bit of fun we can out of September, which (let’s face it) can be more wonderful weather-wise than June. It’s one of our best kept secrets in Maine. Don’t tell the tourists!
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: But Summer Just Started!
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