SUMMER HUMMER

a frequent guest in my skimmer

I don’t know about you, but I think this summer has been God’s way of saying: “OK, you need a break from the hot humid and hazy days of summer.”

Of course this comes with some sacrifice, like no swimming in the pool, and ice cream with guilt.

My summer has been spent with the arbor gods, and their rule of my lawn, cutting down a tree and planting grass, while fighting an algae problem in the pool, so never having time to go into the pool anyway. Chemicals alone have cost me way over $200 and seed and fertilizer is through the roof. But who’s complaining?

This summer the weather has been near perfect, a lot like what San Diego feels like all year, sunny and warm, but low humidity. I had a colleague who was a bit of an eccentric, never did anything except sit and draw, One day it was picture perfect and I called him up and asked him if he wanted to go to the local golf course where he lived near by and play some golf. His “No” was rather interesting, explaining that he gave up golf long ago, when he discovered that after each shot, he would have to walk, carrying his clubs and sweat, the sweat trickling down the cracks of his backside, and the picture was the start of my diet for a while!

He was a bit of a pussy cat, and had no children. What he did have was a vicious German Sheppard who if he saw you wanted you head, arms legs and torso separated. When I would go to visit him, it was in the summer only, because in the winter he kept that animal with an attitude in the house. Once while driving along the Southern State Parkway, he broke down, and quickly envisioned a gang of rapists, and robbers and murderers coming to his aid, so he never traveled without that dog!

But getting back to summer, swim less days and all, I wonder what the winter will bring? Will it be like last winter and the storms and cold weather?

Here is what AccuWeather says:

“AccuWeather reports as fall 2014 takes form, no relief is in sight from the historic drought and the raging wildfires in the West.

While the West undergoes another period of heat and dryness, the Southwest, South and Texas will experience a soggy end to 2014. For the Northeast, blasts of winterlike air will arrive early this fall, serving as a reminder of last winter’s brutality.

As wild weather unfolds across the nation, the tropics will also ramp up, putting the eastern coast of the United States at the highest risk for a direct impact.

While the fall will kick off with days of sunshine and temperatures above normal in some of the region’s largest cities, including New York City and Philadelphia, the polar vortex may make its return for short, sporadic periods in September.

“The vortex could slip at times, maybe even briefly in September for the Northeast,” AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said. “There could be a significant shot of chilly air that comes across the Great Lakes region and into the interior Northeast sometime in mid- to late-September.”

As conditions in northern Canada begin to set up similar to last fall, getting colder and unsettled quickly, it is likely that this pattern could become a source for colder air to make its way down at times into the United States, inducing a drop in temperatures for the interior Northeast during mid-fall.

“Temperatures will not be as extreme in November when compared to last year, but October could be an extreme month,” Pastelok said.

After short-lived days of the polar vortex in September, the weather should turn a bit warmer in November as rain ramps up across areas from New York City to Boston and Portland, Maine, as well as the rest of the region.

“We will see some dry weather in the Northeast, barring any tropical systems, in September and October but in November it will get wet,” Pastelok said.

Following a soaking November for Northeastern residents, El Niño will make its debut early this winter, fueling early winter snow across the area.

“December could get kind of wild due to the very active southern jet stream that is going to provide the moisture for bigger snowstorms,” Pastelok said. “The Northeast could have a couple of big storms in December and early January.”

So Dear Reader, enjoy this weather while you can, swimming or no swimming.