What happened to actual summer?

Moguefile/dhester

Now that we are here in mid-July, it looks like summer is almost over. What? That’s right. Back-to-school 2017 is right around the corner. Where did summer go? Can you believe that some schools go back in session on July 31? For education professionals, there is no doubt that they are preparing to go back to work any minute. I’m not sure when this started, but back-to-school has crept up earlier and earlier through the years, making it seem that summer pretty much ends after the last firework is out and the last Nathan's wiener is eaten by hot dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut on the Fourth of July.

So, what happened to actual summer?

Our fair state has its reasons for returning to school in late July/early August, but I could think of advantages and disadvantages with these dates. Since the schools are air conditioned, students are better off in a climate controlled environment rather than sweltering at camps throughout August. The disadvantage to going back to school in early August is the obvious one: it’s still summer and this year is even worse due to higher heat and humidity. Even with air conditioning, it’s a tad more tough to concentrate, but hey, that’s not an excuse, right? After all, we go to work year-round in the real world.

Speaking of the weather, we are out of the drought, but we are still asked to conserve. The powers-that-be say that you still cannot power wash your own property. I must confess, I always wanted one of those pressure washers from Home Depot. Powers tools are just cool, end of argument. You most likely heard this conservation tidbit over the past few weeks. It’s a long-term good idea. Like I have written in this space before, wetter summers like the one we are currently experiencing are a bit rare in my book. I’m sure statistics disagree with my assessment.

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that we ought to still engage in conservation methods since most of us have been driving in these mini-monsoons when these localized showers have been popping up just about every day. I’ve been in the Southeastern U.S. for quite some time and cannot recall a steamier summer. Even neighborhood felines, squirrels, deer, raccoons and opossum are doing their best to seek shade when daytime humidity and temperatures climb to annoying levels. Even the state’s black bear population is hanging out in our neck of the woods not only foraging for food, but looking to cool off as well.

As we bid summer an unofficial “Peach State Goodbye,” we are left with fond memories. I will cherish my participation in the 48th running of the Peachtree Road Race as well as having some awesome times attempting to tamp down weeds between these insane rains.