Lost Summer

I had high hopes for this summer. Thought I would be outside doing more activities, camping, riding my bike, patio dwelling, basically OUT OF DOORS! Haven't even finished my summer project of building an outdoor pizza oven. Depressing to think about, to say least. Perhaps I'm looking at it all wrong. There were several days when the heat was really out of control, and being outdoors was less than ideal, but I found myself outside for part or most of those days. Yes, I was usually working my tail off, (part of the reason summer has slipped by), but I WAS outdoors. I went camping in the spring, to help kick off my 'summer of fun', but then the floods came and drowned my hopes of camping in my favorite location on the planet (within an hour drive of my house). Between an extraordinary amount of work, and natural forces deciding for me, what I'm allowed to do and not do, I feel my summer is quickly dwindling. Kids have already started back to school! When I heard that, the feeling of dread overcame me, the same feeling when I was a grade schooler. Not that I disliked school all that much, but my endless summer had an expiration date. I was forced to take a short, and much needed vacation recently, in which I spent quite a bit of time outdoors, taking in the sights, sunshine, and enjoyment. For the most part, I crammed a summer's worth of fun into 4 days. So I salvaged what was left of summer. True, there is technically another month left, but face it, September 1st is really the deadline. Get all your outdoor activities rounded up, finalized, put away, and filed in the memory banks. The shorts and bathing suits will be ready for hibernation soon. The sweaters and sweat shirts are preparing themselves for action. The days are getting shorter, the nights are starting to cool a bit. Prepare for the autumn activities to start! The shortest season of the year :(