Heat doesn’t bother me and it rarely gets so hot that I complain. Offhand, I can only think of a single exception to that general rule; one afternoon in Phoenix it was 118 degrees and, indeed, that was a bit too much. However, the summers in our little corner of the world are usually very pleasant.

In particular, this summer has been especially fine. I use the past tense because, as you might have noticed, we passed through the equinox a couple days ago and fall, like the poet said, has “tip-toed in on cat’s paws.” Wafting about the Krain Corner, there’s a wispy layer of fog that cleaves when you walk through it, like so much smoke. It’s been a bountiful year for apples and pears and the evenings require a light jacket.

Make no mistake about it. I’ll miss the summer, but not enough to follow it south like my snowbird friends. The dazzling display of colorful trees along the Green Valley road and the yellow and red leaves blowing across a pale blue sky on blustery, kite-flying days are a wonderful and welcomed change – preferable, in my mind, to the endless, monotonous, and seasonless drone of Yuma or Palm Springs. Too much of anything, even summer, gets to be a real drag.

The full moon that peaked five or six days ago was honored as this year’s harvest moon; that is, the nearest full moon to the equinox. It rose low in the eastern sky, looking larger and closer and more majestic than it should. Upholding the romance of this stellar event, that’s when Farmer Stolz harvested the second cutting of hay from my field.

For the next few months, there are several events and celebrations we can prepare for, so nobody has any reason to get bored.

Oct. 31 brings another evening of witches and warlocks in the downtown clubs and Cole Street will be invaded by the annual swarm of teeny-tiny vampires and zombies. And the next day’s empty-behind-the-eyes hangover will be mellowed by the serene and solemn candlelit rites at the Krain cemetery.

Of course, late November celebrates your family’s Thanksgiving gathering and ushers in the holiday season. Many of us are already laying plans and hiding gifts for these sacred and at times irreverent festivals. And while Phoenix enjoys its summer heat and dust storms, perhaps we’ll get lucky and have a few flakes of snow over Christmas and New Years.

So, bid a heartfelt farewell to summer and embrace the chill to come. Cheers everyone!