Bring on summer, part 2.0

"The second half of summer is now here. What are we focused on? More up north time. Minnesota sweet corn. Viking training camp. And the best of the best - the Minnesota State Fair."

Okay. I will be the downer this morning. Independence Day is now over. Summer Solstice is now over. Memorial Day is now over. We have gone from flood to drought, all in a matter of a few months. Now comes the Dog Days. And summer, 2.0.

The second half of summer is now here. What are we focused on? More up north time. Minnesota sweet corn. Viking training camp. And the best of the best - the Minnesota State Fair.

Soon, the schools will be back in session. Summer will be waning, and the dreaded "s" word might be heard for the first time - usually in the Western Rockies. Maybe if we are lucky, the early season snows will also blanket the Canadian Rockies. Why? To put out those dang fires. What takes the wind out of your sail (so to speak), on a beautiful summer day? Having an air quality index of over one hundred. If not from ozone, the AQI being over one hundred is usually from smoke. "Stay indoors - don't exert yourself". Wow - happy summer! 

This weekend, we did some RV camping by the St. Croix. After having an abnormally long hot and dry spell, the skies opened two days in a row. Lightening, wind, hail, heavy rain - it looked a lot like summer! For two mornings in a row, we woke up to damp grass and the air so crisp and clean, it was a pleasure to breathe. 

We are home for a short respite, and then on the road again. I was once again reminded of a gentleman from England I worked with when I was overseas. One day while having morning tea (I had coffee, thank you), he told me how much he envied us Yanks. Why? When he takes a summer "holiday", he flies across the pond and visits America. As soon as he lands, he rents a car and just drives. Where to? It did not matter. The point was he had the freedom to drive as far as he wanted to go. See sights he had only read about as a child.

One day, he looked me squarely in the eye and said, "Do you Yanks realize just how lucky you are? That you have this wonderful country to explore each day?" Yes, my British friend, we do realize how lucky we are. Lucky, and blessed to live here.