This time of year is hard for me. Is it hard for you, too? Friends on the south side of the planet may feel this way in the Spring; but here in upstate New York at the end of August, this is the time when we feel the heat give way and the chill setting in.
It appears first as the general fatiguing of the green. The outermost leaves on the trees begin to fade ever so slightly… It’s hard to detect, really. There’s more of a feeling of something being different than actual physical evidence. Then one day the leaves take on an olive hue. And then, a few weeks pass during which the evenings are all of a sudden much cooler, the crickets are chirping louder and the dark is falling sooner and sooner each evening. And then one day, there they are: the patches of orange and pink on the tips of the maple trees. Yup. It’s happening. No longer can you pretend that the start of school is still a far-off reality. No longer can you muster the desire to visit the unheated municipal pool. No longer do you feel the need to nap in the sun with a book.
Summer is over, and yet it’s not quite Fall. It is that time in-between.
I’m reminded now that my thermostats need replacing and my furnace needs servicing. I remember that an oil tank is an expensive thing to fill, and that it has been a long summer with very little income. However, it has been an amazing summer. There were adventures and discoveries and many long stretches absent of professional commitments. And I enjoyed every moment of it. Can’t say I didn’t have a great summer, but man, ten months is such a long, long time to wait for pool weather to come around again. I’m a water-loving girl stuck in the middle of the north country and it can make me crabby, especially at the end of the warm season.
My current funk won’t last too long I know; there are many items on the docket for Fall which help to keep my eyes on the horizon and a bit of hope in my heart. There is much to do, as always. Never enough time, as always. Lots of learning ahead, and few regrets behind me. All is happening in its proper time and place, I know. But no matter what, I’m just never quite ready for the switch.
The Hillhouse 
I love it when the air gets a little cooler. It’s April and 85 degrees that gets to me!! But I understand your angst. One of the few feuds Larry and I have had in 32 years is over the thermostat!
Liz, you captured that seasonal “in-between” perfectly. Feeling something similar here in Chicago… I’m never ready for the switch either (with Labor Day around the corner, yet!) Wishing you and Elihu a pleasant transition to fall and the beginning of a new school year.
Ah, I’m glad to know it’s not just me. Thanks for the good wishes, I return the same to you! (Elihu, btw, starts high school this year and cannot wait. So that’s a plus!)
What you’ve posted here really reminds me of when I lived in the Midwest, with lots of deciduous trees, and where the seasons are really distinct, but have these ‘tweener transition periods. Very evocative of that time…Now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, and specifically in SW Oregon where we often have some pretty serious heat and some pretty serious smoke from forest fires, I find myself really looking forward to winter…which admittedly is a lot milder here than in the Midwest or Northeast. I often associate the winter with breathable air, and much welcome milder temperatures. GB
Interesting. I do think of things being a bit drier and less green in the west – but of course you do have your wet and green time too… I really do like having a true white winter, although it lasts far too long. Contrast – in any form it may take – makes it easier to appreciate things, imho.