It’s almost over. It feels like it already is. Summer.
Done. Bummer. Sept.
21 is the last official day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s a time when a kiss of frost greets the waning warmth of the sun. Then it’s on to darker, shorter days and darker colder nights.
Dark. As my life goes by, I’m more and more nostalgic about summer and all the possibilities that the season offers. Here in the high country, each season is distinct and unique.
Fall is a beauty — so it’s not over yet. As the temperatures increase every single year, presenting us with another “warmest year in human history,” the changing of the season almost is a welcome relief. Even in Aspen, girded by wealth and altitude, it’s getting hard to ignore the sweeping changes happening before our eyes.
On a hike over the weekend I walked a high logging road under a cover of clouds, hunting gold leaves, mixing into the scene with men in orange vests hunting for elk. Some were hunkered in their camps, perhaps spending time away from the hustle and expectations of family life, while drinking it in with the guys. Maybe getting away with your buddies is the real draw.
Reporter Stina Sieg just filed a Colorado Public Radio story about a group of women rafters who leave their men at home as they get outside and create memories. Some of the women just published a book called “Where Are Your Men?” The story captures the magic of floating away from the hustle of terrestrial life with friends you lo.