Thoughts and Feelings of Summer
The crickets and katydids are deafening as I attempt to write. Even through the drone of tinnitus, a hearing affliction that robs me of some of the high frequency details of life. Night sounds whisper of the flush of summer, the fullness of living things just before they begin their decline. A decline toward the end, to autumn and on into winter. Or just the dog days of summer.
Riding, I feel the changes in my bones, as if genetically programmed, an evolutionary alarm to prepare for the coming cold weather. Strange as the temperature in the morning as I wander toward breakfast pushes past 80 degrees and humidity barely alleviated by the rush of air across my chest as the Vespa moves along the road. The old church in Linden Hall, Pennsylvania, stands silent in the thick air. Something is changing.
Old Apples and Summer Dreams
Across the road at the Rock Hill School is an old, abandoned apple tree heavy with disfigured fruit, victim of insects and weather. Exactly the sort of fruit that sustained childhood adventures as we perched in trees, pocket knives slicing and carving away the bad parts to provide sweet and sour flesh. Last acts of summer before the onset of fall and the return to school.
Signals of Fall
The green gray light in the morning glows in the humid air. Everything feels different, a melancholy of loss creeps in, perhaps an acceptance that the bright, crisp, energized days of late spring and early summer are gone. And somewhere inside, as I ride quietly along, the world is changing.
It’s an odd feeling. I remember it from childhood. But it was lost for a long time as an adult, returning when I began to ride again and senses long unused were renewed.
Scooters of the Corn
Rain and heat have produced a heavy crop of corn this year. Peering into the darkness of the rows I feel uneasy, nervous of the claustrophobic world inside those fields. Was never bothered by it before. Never gave it a thought. But now, as autumn approaches, or maybe it’s old age, I’m wary of change.
Sunshine and Happiness
Lest I leave a sole impression of melancholy and gloom, I’m happy to report fine riding beneath blue skies on hot summer days. The biggest change here in a lazy pasture was avoiding groundhog holes with the small Vespa wheels and dodging horse manure that seemed to be everywhere. Neither probably not common complaints of motorcycle or scooter riders.
Perhaps it’s just all part of the dog days of summer.
I would love to say I am setting on the porch in the cool of the morning before the sun starts beating down reading this lovely story, but that would be lie. It is actually 82 with 82% humidity at 5:30 in the morning were I am setting
That part about reading a lovely story, however, is not a lie.
Thanks Steve
Your weather sounds much like ours does. The heat and humidity take a toll. I’ve been reading a memoir by photographer Sally Mann. She writes of the weather of the south in a way that feels romantic and the humidity part of the south of the landscape. Intriguing ideas.
I’ll try and write some colder stuff!
Lovely post. The older I get, the more I mind the heat and humidity. This past week or so, the humidity has been oppressive. I have been doing some riding, too, which I still enjoy until temps reach about 85. I actually am looking forward to Summer’s end. But I’ll be squeezing-in some more riding adventures between now and then. Perhaps even in your neck of the woods. I would love to see your photo exhibit. I hope the opening went as well as you’d hoped.
The opening went well. More people came than I expected. And they drank more wine than I expected too!
I suspect it will be chilly before we know it. Seems autumn creeps in quickly and then it’s snowing. It’s all too fast.
Great blog!
Thank you.
Once again, thanks Steve for taking me places beyond those my two wheels do.
My pleasure Coop. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Another great post that brings back childhood memories while growing up in the country of northeastern PA. On another note, while visiting State College a few days ago, I saw you headed up Boal Avenue on the Vespa, right by the Farmers Market. We were there to look at a few houses for sale, pending my wife’s retirement.
Your photo exhibition wasn’t open when we were there, so I hope to get back up next Wednesday for the Moto Hang and to check out your show.
Drop me a note when you know you’ll be in town. The gallery is only open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you’re here on other days I can open it up for you.
So you might be moving up this way? Nice place to retire.
Hope to see you at the Moto Hang.
Bring on the Fall! Cooler temps, the turning of the leaves….riding in hot weather is not conducive to happy thoughts.
I’m with you. Ready for cooler days.
I like the church photo. Those older buildings on narrow, empty roads are pretty cool. We are already enjoying cooler temperatures with nighttime temps around 40°F with highs around 64°F. The blue skies and fluffy clouds are nice.
I need to shoot more on sunny days. Not sure why but I struggle to bring the camera out when the sun is shining.
I wouldn’t mind a few 40F nights. Don’t remember what sleeping in cold air feels like…
Steve, I hate tinnitus! Have had it (when I recognized it) for about 30 years. Kathy asks me at night: “Do you hear the crickets?”…no, I don’t. All high frequencies are blocked without my hearing aids which help but certainly aren’t a cure! Plus, how can you wear earplugs with hearing aids in your ears? I never ride my Vespa without earplugs.
Tinnitus or not, your writing rivals your photos and those are sterling! Speaking of photos, did you sell some work at the show? I think it was brave and perfect to do the large pieces, shows you still have heuvos and want to show your work in a grand scale.
I hope your girl is recovering well and that the dog-days turn into fall-days of long rides and many stops to smell the roses!
Will
My tinnitus has been stable for years. Hopefully it will stay that way. Or they’ll figure out how to fix it. I’m some ways off needing hearing aids. I think. Kim might disagree…
I’ve sold a dozen prints so far — all 16x20s. The big ones were really just a device to break up the monotony of a single size. Works pretty well. Not sure what I’ll do with those big prints when the show is done.
Looking forward to some fine fall rides!
Steve:
To quote you: “…old age, I’m wary of change.”
Amen, bro.
I suppose it explains a lot of resistance that comes with age.
I’ve been in something akin to Invincible Summer mode for the last fifteen years or so: When I still lived in New York, I took a long bicycle ride out to Fort Tilden near the Rockaways, as far East as you can go before falling into the Atlantic. It was a truly balmy mid-November late afternoon – balmy enough, in fact, to kick off my cycling shoes and socks and wade into said Atlantic, camera in hand, and took a snap of the waves rolling over my feet while half-immersed in sand. Since the age of social media was then becoming A Thing, I posted that photo on my FB feed with the words “Summer is Over When I Say It Is.” I’m the sort who wears sandals until temperatures are regularly trending south of 60°F. Whenever temperature and humidity start to resemble a well-matched NBA game, and, let’s say, the a/c on the NJ Transit train I’m aboard suddenly decides to call a wildcat strike, All I have to remember is the multiple times last Winter when I was shoveling snow like a [expletive deleted…use your imagination], and suddenly I can deal with the heat just fine, more or less.
And…wow, the Vespas of Summer! I’ve been riding a good deal more lately, and Melody has been too happy to oblige. To top that off, there are quite a few more Vespas rolling around here since the new dealer took on the line. Heck, we even have a new scooter club (Jersey Shore Chaos Crew), which had its first group ride last Sunday, and was a blast. Hoping to repeat that in a week or two. We may be fairly past Summer’s halfway point, but for me the fun is just getting started.
And, once again, your words and photos do the trick for me…and I must get out there to take in some of that rural goodness before it gets too cold. It just looks way too tantalizing to ignore, and since I finally got my EZ-Pass thingy, there’s very little beyond scheduling to stop me.
Soon, soon the heat and humidity will be a memory again and we can begin complaining about the cold.
So you’re in a scooter club now? Is that anything like the Sons of Anarchy???
I’m hoping to do a little more riding soon. Seems like I rode more when I was working that now that I’m retired. What’s that about?
I like to think of the tail-end of Summer as slipping into a different kind of “sweet spot”, where, among other things, doing the whole ATGATT thing is just a bit less of a chore…although after investing in a decent mesh jacket and well-vented but decently armored gloves, I can’t gripe too much, ‘specially when I’m moving.
Sons of Anarchy? I think our club’s name cribbed a bit from that. But I’m also thinking about a briefly popular Internet meme with a guy with regulation-hipster beard and shades astride a pink Yamaha Vino with the title “Sons of Mary Kay.” Maybe we’re somewhere along that spectrum. 😉
https://me.me/i/alert-new-biker-gang-seen-in-north-carolina-sons-of-856206
Aside from armored pants, I have all the gear on. Long pants always though I realize they offer little protection from sliding on pavement. But a little layer before flesh. Once the temperature drops into the 70s I start wearing the armored pants again. They’re mesh and vented. And once the temperature drops below 40F the heavier armored pants appear…
Sons of Mary Kay. I wonder what their cut looks like???