Summer's End

September 25th through October 1st
Last week started off warm. Some would even call it hot. The color in the trees was the only indication of the lateness of the season. By week's end the color was still there, but the hot, not so much. In an average year, this would be the peak of Fall color. By week's end, the trees this year are around fifty percent. The lake continued to be swim-able/dive-able mostly at the start of last week. By the week's end, swimmers took on a shivery, sky blue pallor. It was noted that the divers harvested a fine crop of golf balls from the icy water. Cold nights frosted lawns and put more than a little chill into the lake. One of the last, if not <i>the</i> last, ski show at Water's Edge was short and slalomy. The crowd was pretty sparse. This was the week that many boats and lifts were pulled from Lake Lucerne. The height of the water combined with decades of experience resulted in few if any injuries. Huzzah! The lake level remains high and that should hold as pulled boat prop tears make their way back to the lake. We got rain last week. This was the first year in decades that the creek on the North end of the lake did not dry up at any time during the Summer and now the Fall. There are reports that the fishing on the North end of the lake has been good this Fall, both from those that clean their fish before they eat them and those that swallow them whole. Local squirrels are quieter than normal when pine cones are crammed into their noise hole. The reports of a crazy quail roaming the sapping fields all Summer turned out to be true. The bird has threatened and, in one case, attacked the sugermen as they gathered wood for next season. In the bird's defense, the attack occurred after one of the men "accidentally" threw a log at it. Summer is dead. Solstice season is survived by wonderful memories, a few muscle pulls, many empty energy drinks, and a slight limp. While Summer may be gone, the bits of wisdom collected in the warm time will continue. This Summer's lessons include;<br><br>   1. Unannounced ski show crowds tend to be sparse.<br>   2. Tips up.<br>   3. Don't throw logs at strange birds.<br><br>-Nemo's colder but wiser