The Last Scraps of Summer

Last week started off warm. Really warm. The kind of warm that has you regretting pulling the air conditioner 2 weeks ago. It took a few days of this heat, but the lake temperature eventually rose to 70°F and swimming became fun again. The heat didn't last, but it was great while it permeated the northwoods.

At the start of last week, the volume of the tree color was no longer a quite whisper, but more of a low background noise. It'll only get louder from here.

By the weekend, there were more and more maples that began to scream "Color!".

There were even signs of the start of the post-peak color confettifying that will cover some lawns.

During the toasty part of last week, the lake was also blessed with flat water. This made swimming, boating, and skiing particularly enjoyable.

There was also plenty of lawn mowing. This summer's warm, wet weather has grass growing at faster rates than any of the men can remember.

As the heat faded back into autumn, there were a few rain events.

The early rain added up to not much. Maybe two tenths of an inch. The overnight rain on the weekend was much heavier, ending up with three quarters of an inch.

All the heat and rain seems to have made local furries hungrier than usual.

All the rain did not help the misnamed "Art in the Square" event on Saturday. Why misnamed? The square was torn up with repaving, so the event was held on the street just north of the square and the "Art" was mostly edible. I would guess that the more accurate "Food in the Street" name didn't have the marketing reach.

Last week, the exodus of summer stuff from the cool waters continued. The task was occasionally made easier using bouyancy.

The yearly task of removing the island bouys before they are wrecked by the coming ice had less rain than the Food in the Street event.

The five floats will be put back sometime between ice-out and Memorial Day.

The sky sort of cleared late Sunday. It was noted that there was more color in the trees than at the start of the week.

We tried to image the trees to the west of Lucerne, but Metonga and a sunset photobombed the picture.

As the end of Sunday approached, the sky cleared more and the lake became flatter.

Then the clouds came back. It looks like the rain isn't over quite yet.

As I bounced across the lumpy water a number of thoughs crossed my mind.

1) Ouch.
2) The waves of the afternoon were dissipating. I should have waited just a little while longer for the flat.
3) Ouch!
and 4) It's been said that if you're not limping by the end of summer, you lose. So I guess I...win?

In the old Peanuts comic, Charlie Brown gets his clothes knocked off by a line drive. My crash was like that. I still had my suit on, but the sunglasses were scrubbed from my face, the activity tracker was stripped from my wrist (RIP Fitbit Charge 6), and the desire to ski more that afternoon was plucked from my being. Ibuprofen my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. And besides, a slower, deliberate, more limpy pace was good for taking in the craft of the corndog, funnel cake, and popped corn at the Saturday "Art in the Square" event. The leaves will be peaking soon and the pontoon crane guy will be pulling the lifts from the lake in about a week. Best to get those last runs in before then. Wait for the calmer water for best results.

-Nemo's limp is mostly gone and he's ready for another run.

The Last Scraps of Summer

September 15th through 21st, 2025