Summer is Here

It's not official yet. There are three more weeks until the calendar agrees with me, but I'm sure that summer is here.

Why do I think it's summer?
It is HOT. Yesterday it was 89 degrees. And humid. There is RAIN. Not just any rain. Not the cool spring rain, but the true summer thunderstorm. Preceded by random forked lightning in a gray-and-white sky and the distinct, overpowering smell of rain in the air. There was a brief downpour, and then the rest of the evening was filled with ominous rumblings of thunder. Well, ominous to some people. I was happy to fall asleep to the rolling thunder. :)

Yes, summer is here.
I know it because the college students are gone. One of the beauties of living in a college town is that the population suddenly diminishes on the day finals are over. All of the sudden, the streets are empty! The restaurants are empty! The stores are empty! In the morning, during my drive to work, I drive straight through town--just to gloat over the fact that the only pedestrians I see are the occasional street cleaner or meter maid. And I am the lone runner on the track in the IM building. Oh yeah!!... but then, the summer campers arrive. Like the 25 tennis players doing drills in the IM building. I would run a lap and wonder, "is that red-headed kid the red-headed girl's brother? They look related. Hmmmm." It's food for thought anyway. :)

Summer is my favorite time of year.
But my definition of summer; the time when plants are so green that the world seems almost technicolor... Surreal summer... what I think heaven will look like.