Summer's almost gone, and winter's comin' on...
(Can you guess what song that phrase is in, and who did the song?)
...you'll find the answer below, in the little "italics" sign-off thing...

There are signs that the seasons are changing, but it's not an abrupt change, rather, the seasons "morph", one into another. It's like "Summer" gets old and weak this time of year, but hangs on as best as it can until Fall finally takes over. But those first days of Fall can be quite nice. I remember, as a student in Coeur d'Alene's old Jr. High building, the sweltering heat in our afternoon Social Studies class was virtually unbearable during the first week of September. Plus, the class was taught by a grouchy old bag, which didn't serve to make things any more pleasant...(that's not nice, I know).

One sign that summer is waning, is that the poor grass in the City Park is screaming out, "Uncle! Uncle! I've had enough!!!" Well, grass doesn't cry out...unless you listen closely. But, there's patches of dry, yellowish grass, and in one portion of the park, a shady area that hosts LOTS of picknickers, the grass is worn away altogether. The City Park is basically saying, "you've all loved me to death this summer; will you just please go away?" Well, Labor Day ain't that far away, so pretty soon, the Park will get its wish.

One sign that winter is over, and that spring is here, is when I begin noticing the reappearance of that pesky little insect, the FLY. I hate 'em, but what can ya do? But this time of the year, it's almost like the flies get more desperate in their search for things to corrupt with their many slimy germs. So, the flies get more obnoxious than usual. They buzz frantically around your head, they even crawl UP YOUR NOSE in search of hidden treasure. It's almost as if the flies can sense they don't have much time, so they have to get in their, uh....er...."licks" while they can. (Ugh...what an awful picture I painted there...a new low for this blog.)

A welcome sign that summer is on the wane, though, is that my house is actually COOL ENOUGH to sleep in. The temperature may still soar in the daytimes, but with sunset getting earlier each night, the heat gives way without much of a struggle; quite unlike this past July 4th, which was one of the hottest, most humid, virtually unbearable days which I have EVER experienced. That night, I slept just inside my screen door, with the fan blowing on me. It's times like that when Arrid Extra-Dry is sold by the caseload. Ack. I really am not a big fan of summer. I am more of a "temperate" soul; give me bearable temperatures...not too hot, not too cold....but "just right"....

Of course, summer lingers on and everyone's trying to get out there and enjoy the warm temperatures. Who knows, by December 27th or whenever, when it's cold, frozen, wet, sloppy and slushy, I may remember July 4th more fondly. Anyway, the bicyclists, skaters and rollerbladers are still out and about, as I found out during my walk around city park this evening...I was almost run over by a BIKE RIDER ON A CELLPHONE. There he was, weaving around individuals and groups of people, which is difficult enough when yer steering with both hands. I'll say it again: He was on a damn CELLPHONE. And he just missed me. And if he'd have hit me, take into account my back is still really touchy, although better than it was this last winter. He woulda leveled me. I am actually a little ticked off about this, but "oh well", I guess. Anyway, be careful out there, and have a great "remainder of Summer"...the snow will be flyin' soon enough.

I'll close this post with a great photo of the old Fish Inn that I've never seen before...The Fish Inn was located east of town, just off Interstate 90, at the Harrison exit...it was north of the Interstate, and was a popular place for those who wanted a cold beer, and for those who liked to camp out. (And experience yet another "summer sensation"; namely, Mosquitoes. I hate 'em worse than FLIES!) Anyway, the Fish Inn, back in the late '40's/early '50's...



Wow, that's not a very big picture...I hope it enlarges...to see if it does, click on the picture. Anyway, you can see the old OLD highway at the top of the picture; that road is still there, but I ain't gonna drive it; look at that steep cliff and virtually no roadside barriers. You can see the cabins just west of the Fish building, and there was plenty of flat space for camping, too. The Fish burned down back in the '90s. But it was known far and wide. The Fish was obviously built long before the advent of pre-fabricated buildings. You sure don't see a lot of cookie-cutter "Fish" buildings scattered around the area!
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I know that you just can't wait any longer to see if you guessed correctly, concerning the title of this blog..."Summer's almost gone, and winter's comin' on"...the song was called "GOTTA TRAVEL ON", by Billy Grammer, on Monument Records, from the early '60's, I believe. He had another hit with a song called "Bonaparte's Retreat".