Last week a line of thunderstorms blew through on a northerly cold front. Rain fell and temperatures with it. Was summer’s back finally broken? After endless, smothering heat, the coolness was welcomed like a prodigal child.
A decade ago, grandsons Camden and Cooper would race from two lawns down to leap into the raked leaves in our front yard. The vast pile was scarlet, vermilion, pumpkin orange and every shade of brown. The leaves crunched, chattered and scattered as the boys waded out to race again.
That Halloween, as leaves danced in the wind, my two Power Rangers wore coats over costumes to keep warm.
But this year, where drought reigns, the traditional colors of the fall will go largely missing. Many trees cast aside their wilted leaves early to retain moisture, just as a human body sacrifices extremities to frostbite to keep its trunk alive.
A few days after the cold front, the highs rose into the mid-90s. Today’s officially the first day of autumn. Each year, the dry heat lingers longer. Soon, summer’s back may never be broken.
