Time to drag out the rakes

Resslin' Around by Casey Ressler

Take a breath and enjoy it. It's almost over.

That's what I tried to tell myself Friday morning as I got into the truck to head to work. There were a couple of colored leaves on my windshield, and the nip in the air just screamed, &#8220Fall.” Could it be that the summer has already come and gone?

Summer amounts to eight weeks in which Alaskans cram eight months worth of activity. Each night, the calendar is full with events, as everybody tries to take advantage of the precious time we have.

Softball, golf, fishing, camping, biking, hiking and just about everything in between gets penciled in. Gardening and trips around the state have their time.

Alaskans can't afford to put off until tomorrow what can be done today, because tomorrow may very well be winter.

This year seemed different, though. It seemed like summer never really got here. Yes, there were a couple of days when the temperature got into the high 70s and low 80s, but it didn't really last. We had termination dust in June, for crying out loud. The weekends seemed to blend together, and before I knew it, it was getting dark at night. Real dark. Like, need the headlamp out camping dark.

Everybody gauges the seasons differently in Alaska. For some, when the fireweed nears the top of its bloom, summer is almost over. For others, it's when the salmon complete their run. Still others say it's not fall until it snows, but they are considered optimists among realists.

For me, the surest sign that the seasons are changing is my bald head and my tent. It all boils down to whether or not I need to wear a winter hat to cover my hairless dome to stay comfortable in my sleeping bag.

In the early spring, I pull it on when I crawl into the tent at night. During the summer, I can't bear to have it on because of the heat. And now, I don't forget to pack the fleece hat, because it's downright chilly where your &#8220coif don't cover.”

Unfortunately, that hat is going to get packed every time I head out now. But one thing is for certain - just because it's getting chilly doesn't mean the end of the season.

Alaskans are good about eschewing the thermometer and not allowing temperature to dictate activity, and we need to be reminded of that right around this time, when the summer starts turning into fall, and you know that the next time it is summer is only 10 months away.

Grab your hat, pack your raincoat and keep your schedules clear - while summer may be disappearing quickly, it's still a great time to get out and enjoy the beauty and the fun of living in Alaska.

There's no reason to hang up the fly rod, put the golf clubs in the crawlspace or hang the mountain bike up in the garage just yet.

I'm always reluctant to trade my fly rod for a rake, preferring to do that in November instead of September, much to my wife's chagrin.

Casey Ressler (valleylife@frontiersman.com) is the Valley Life editor. He may grow hair to get him through the fall.