Summer's Last Stand

It was hot last week. Delightfully hot. Think July-esque hot, but with cooler mornings and much earlier sunsets. Aside from some choppy water it's been one of the best late summers ever.

Early in the week, we passed what we first thought was a napping badger on the side of Hwy 8. It turned out to be a huge skunk and an even huger olfactory treat. Scoring this one on a superficial level would be Car : 1 Skunk : 0, but a more insightful score could be Car : 1 Anyone with a working nose : 0.

We had several good sunsets last week. The best part of the end of the day was the calming of the lake. It made for some good ski runs.

The mornings saw some calm water, too. The cold morning air had the lake steaming during more than one sunrise.

There was some rain last week. We could have used more.

The lake level has been dropping since the end of July. The beaches on the north end of the lake are getting bigger.

The trees, the maples in particular, grew more colorful as the week progressed.

Some are getting really peaky.

During a few days, the pontoon crane guys were spotted cruising up and down the lake pulling out lifts

The lake water is very clear with just a bit of fall floating on top.

On Saturday the annual Art in the Square festival was held. It seemed smaller and less attended than in years past.

What the event lacked in vendors and attendance, it more than made up for in face painting.

The old Arcade is still across the street from the festival, but it is in increasingly rough shape.

It's since been renamed the Superbowl Bar and badly needs a new roof. If not redone soon, we fear it will face the same fate as the old Minute Market seen in the Autumn's Dawn update from two weeks ago.

With all the summery weather, there was some golf. Late Saturday we took in a quick nine before some predicted weather. After putting the pin back in on four, the words of Caddyshack's Carl Spackler came to mind, "I'd keep playing. I don't think the heavy stuff is gonna come down for quite awhile.". We made it off the course just as a few fat drops smacked the truck's windshield.

The storms we were supposed to get on Saturday night and Sunday which were predicted to deposit a healthy half an inch of rain dropped only a paltry tenth of an inch. We could have used a lot more, but at least the trees are getting more colorful.

If you're not limping by the end of summer, you're not trying hard enough. As summer 2024 ended on Sunday morning, one thing was made clear: We're trying hard enough. Supplies of Ibuprofen, Bactine, and energy drinks are okay and that's good because it currently looks like there'll be another week of so of ski/golf/tennis/swim/dive-able weather left in this year's tank. That should leave enough time to recuperate before next summer, but it's gonna be a close thing.

-Nemo needs just a second to catch his breath before the next run.

Summer's Last Stand

September 16th through 22nd, 2024