It Definitely Felt Cooler Today

I went out to church this morning and there was no doubt summer was over. The calendar told me that a few days ago, but today I noticed it in a most significant way: it was cool outside. The last few mornings had been a bit on the cool side, but nothing which would alert us of the proverbial sea change*.

*(Sea Change: Best viewed when you live right near the ocean and the tide is dead low. As it shifts from falling to rising, at dead low, there are four or five very small waves that head toward the shore. This is the sea changing to an incoming tide. The water has to be smooth and you have to be looking to see this bit of action.)

There are two kinds of morning coolness: one holds the sure promise of a warm day, while the other says, “This is about all you’re going to get, bud.”

This morning was the sea change. Sure, there will be warm days, but they’ve pretty much gone by and we can’t depend on sunning ourselves out on the back patio. Those days are gone until the later spring. The chairs will come in a few weeks from now, not that anyone’s used them lately, and eventually the geese will honk goodbye.

I haven’t seen the Old Farmer’s Almanac yet. Their seasonal forecasts are remarkably accurate (note I said “seasonal”) due to the better accuracy of long-range guesses. There is an art to doing that; they and the National Weather Service have pretty much figured it out. Close-in, it’s best not to go more than 3-5 days out.