Some people think mid-August is the end of summer. Maybe for teachers, facing back-to-work after 2 months off and parents of schoolchildren celebrating back-to-school shopping, but often for me summer vacation has been the last 2 weeks of August. It’s a beautiful time at the lake. (Maybe less so when it’s rainy and cool, but it’s definitely beach weather this week.)
It’s lovely to sit and stare at sunlight glittering on water. To listen to wind in trees. To go for a walk to see which sites in the campground emptied out. And who came in. To smell rain the morning after a storm. To see the moon rise. It’s oddly fascinating to watch crows fight over peanuts and squirrels battle for a spot at the feeder.
Tuesday before last it was also exciting to join the ranks of those who’ve seen a bear, although that’s as close as I want to come alone and on foot. We locked eyes as I rounded the Y-trail on my run. I had music blasting so it saw me before I saw it. When we made eye contact, it readied itself to go up a tree. I said, “No, don’t worry, I’m going back thataway,” and turned around. I tried not to run away, because you’re not supposed to run from a bear. But I was moving pretty fast in the other direction. Looking over my shoulder.
I still go for a run. I still use the Y-trail. But my workout is extra aerobic every time I near that spot of the woods, head snapping back and forth to check every black shape among the tree trunks.
Now I’m off for a morning stroll (in the campground, nowhere near the Y-trail). Despite squirrels stealing anything left lying around and the shorter days, I say “Happy Summer.”