It’s  a hot and steamy September Sunday in St. Louis. The weather people are predicting a high of 96° which means our fair Red Birds and their tenacious fans will be doing what it takes to stay cool on the field and in the seats tonight after Busch Stadium baked in the city oven all day. I’ll be listening to the game while I enjoy an ice-cold something which remains to be defined.

I’m one of  4 or 5 St. Louisans who is not really fond of summer. At all. While I love and live for the outdoors, I’m not a huge fan of sweating or laboring to the point of heatstroke. I don’t like being trapped indoors breathing “conditioned” air, either. So what’s a person like me to do?

Wish for winter?

I do love a wintry day with milky-gray clouds and temperatures that require coats and hats. Especially hats (we’ll talk about my hair some other time). While winter comes with its own set of challenges (dry skin) the benefits of winter are just delicious. A Starbucks Cafe Latté is always good, but on a chilly morning, it’s a healing elixir. Cold weather clothes are rich in texture and color and can be classified as “comfort clothes”. I don’t have to cut the grass in the winter. I can power walk without having to keep my arms raised above my head. And with the lower winter humidity levels, I can style my hair—something that is a risky investment on a typical STL summer day. Most of my family, friends, and associates don’t dig on winter and get agitated at the onset or even at the idea of the onset of winter. Want to roil a bunch of STL dwellers? Tell them in the spring that we’re going to have an unusually cool summer with lots of rain and an exceptionally cold winter. Expect threats of moving to Florida or another resort destination.

I don’t want to wish my life away pining for autumn and winter, so I’ll tell you what I really do like about this time of the year: the shorter days. I like how the low slung sun creates designs on the landscape with light and shade using buildings, poles, trees, and people as an instrument. The frenzy of summer heat and light is slowing down. The shadows coating the late summer ground are deeper and heavier—seeming to prepare for the fall of the leaves. Any breeze generated at this time of year is that much cooler making outdoors tolerable. It’s nice.

So let’s go outside and find some cool, refreshing, inspiring shadows and enjoy the rest of the summer…which comes to an end soon.

I hope you have a great day.