Bye-bye July

It's still officially summer, but the season is already changing in subtle ways. The early mornings are darker and dewy. The roses are giving their second bloom a valiant try, but most of the flowers are now past their peak.

I've started cutting back big masses of flopping daisies. It's actually restful to see a bit of bare space in the garden. The late blooming dahlias are finally coming into their own, a sure sign fall is around the corner.

August is the "back-to-school" shopping month, always fun, but it seems like a cruel joke this year since most kids won't be in the classroom. None of us will ever forget the strange summer of 2020.
 
Peak Summer
Erik Nixon

We're steeped in summer
And everything around me
Seems to indicate it'll never end
But still I'm spending time
Looking for the subtle signs
Trying to figure out when
We've reached peak summer
When a billion green trees
Start to dull ever so slightly
When the bounty of vegetables
Found at all the local farm stands
Starts thinning in quality and quantity
When the Halloween candy
Appears in the supermarkets
And the Back to School! signs
Show up in the big box stores
When the sun sets a little earlier
And gets a little more noticeable
Each night, night after night
Until you start thinking about
How much daylight you lost
All of the signs and all of the things
I've been noticing are telling me
That we're right in the midst of
Peak summer and if I'm not careful
It'll be completely over
And I'll have missed it entirely
As the season folds into fall.