We head off to The Beach next week — our annual August trip which hails the end of summer.  In fact, I have shifted into "end of summer mode" knitting-wise already.  My Spring Q'mitl, well, may just have to wait until next Spring for completion — as I am focusing on my summer pieces so that I can wear them while the sun is still shining!  

The Beach is a terrific segue from Summer to Autumn as it offers bright blue skies and sun-shimmered seas alternating with cool gray skies and chilling winds.  So, I bring Summer & Autumn projects — as well as knitted garments ranging from light-weight linen to wool sweaters.

Which explains why yesterday — one of our hottest days this summer — I was swatching for a wool sweater (Breathing Space by Veera Valimaki in Hedgehog yarns!) http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/breathing-space.  

It also explains why I ended up buying Autumn-y yarns at Apple Yarns in Bellingham last week — some ot their hand-dyed sock yarn and also some from Bellingham-based Spincycle Yarns.

Then, yesterday, as I was singing little songs in my head about the last days of Summer and the beach-y finale of the Summer season, I was abruptly struck by some factuality.  Regarding our current position in the  Summer season.  That is, I did the math.  There are 13 weeks between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox.  We are at 5 1/2 weeks.  Not even half-way! And this came as a shocking surprise to me.  

For my entire life, I have considered Summer half-spent about mid-July (i.e., 3 weeks into the season) and have begun bidding it adieu as soon as we cross into August (with 7 weeks to go)!  I realize that I have been heavily influenced by the traditional school year, but still…!  I know all about solstices and equinoxes and am pretty well in tune with the natural year here in the Pacific Northwest (I have boasted that you could set me down on any day in the year and I could give you an approximate date with fair accuracy based on the light, the foliage, the scents in the air, etc.).  

So feeling a bit chagrined — but also elated that I have weeks for my Summer knitting and that I have an absolute running start on my Autumn knitting!