LONGVIEW, Texas — The first indication that summer was easing its way out of East Texas came early this past week. I walked north to the corner of Sixth Street toward Marshall Avenue about 6:15 a.m., dancing through the neighbors' sprinklers soaking the sidewalk while the sun peeped over the pawn shop on a nearby corner.
I took a deep breath, then another. The breeze was coming out of the north, and I actually shivered — not a common occurrence when outdoors in the Pine Curtain, in August.
Fall lurks nearby. Thank the Lord.
Summer could return any day, cruelly and inexorably. The calendar says the season ends in a few weeks, but that means little here. Summer steals days from both spring and autumn. It is the neediest of seasons, requiring almost more days than the other three seasons combined, if defined by highs and lows.
Right now, the weather is glorious, chamber of commerce climate, though we could use a spot of rain. No sense getting greedy, though. The rain will come soon enough.
My backyard trees believe fall is about to arrive, though they can be fooled as well. Leaves flutter down in the northern breeze, quickly covering the driveway and jamming up the gutters. The squirrels appear more active than usual, still munching on my cow's head horns, which are now about three inches long — less than a third of the length when I moved here 20 months ago.
I refuse to fill the bird feeders, figuring the squirrels need to learn how to forage on their own. Eventually I'll take pity on the birds, but they're fine right now, with plenty of bugs and such to eat.
I was visiting a friend the other day. Her neighbor was fuming over the mess squirrels had made of both his pecan crop and the van parked beneath the tree's canopy. The tree rats take one bite out of each still-green pecan and then leave the useless remains. Apparently, green pecans don't agree with a squirrel's dietary system, any more than it would mine.The difference is that squirrels do their business from the branches above his van, which had an impressive collection of rodent droppings on its windshield and roof. He attempted to enlist me in squirrel assassination, since he knows I have a pellet gun with scope. I made vague noises of affirmation. Truth is, I have no intention of shooting anything that isn't trying to cause me harm. Irritation doesn't count.
I promised I was done writing about my tomato plants but have to renege. Here it is, after Labor Day, football season under way, and my neighbor and I are still picking tomatoes. Our plants, placed on either side of his backyard fence, have commingled and continue to sport blooms.
I picked off a couple dozen grape tomatoes a few days ago. A few Big Boys hang low on the vine. His satellite dish is about to be covered up with vines that show no signs of slowing down, despite the cooler weather. I think the county agent should come out and investigate, possibly nominate us from some type of city-living, tomato-growing citation. Just a thought.
There is a spring in the step of those of us who care about such things as the end of an East Texas summer. Some folks have more to worry about, or spend all their time inside, or actually enjoy the heat. I can't figure out the latter group, but there you go.
My small circle of outdoor revelers are doing the Happy Dance. Bicycles are being pulled off their garage storage racks. Some foolish folks are digging out their autumn apparel (not me — I want to ensure fall is staying). Football season has begun, with the rare chance of watching a game without sweating profusely.
I know. I'm likely jinxing this cool snap with my loose talk about an early autumn. I can't help it. As an avowed enemy of East Texas summer, I root for its passing with a fervor employed by those showing up at health-care town meetings. Summer and I have a long, uneasy relationship. We are due for some time apart.
Gary Borders is publisher of the Longview News-Journal. E-mail: gborders(at)longview-news.com.