Late August is a time of year which I do not especially like.
A cool breeze comes up around four o'clock, whispering, as it meanders through the garden, "Goodbye, goodbye, say goodbye to summer." The flowers, powerhouses of growth through July and most of August, suddenly stall, as if their engines needed lubricant. The light is different, too. It slants in through the windows for a briefer period each afternoon. At night, the cotton blanket no longer provides enough warmth. Oh, yes, there is no denying it. Fall is on the way. Even the tourists at Gull Pond seemed a bit wistful yesterday when I accompanied Sven over for a swim. (That is his head in the water, beside the sunfish.)
Children, soon heading back to school, wielded their shovels more purposely or used no shovel at all, determined to get as much play out of the last day at the beach as possible. Some of the older locals, down for a swim, seemed relieved at the imminent end to high season. The craziness of not finding a parking space behind town hall would soon be over. It will be possible to go out on Route 6 again without fearing traffic.
This morning one of my friends rubbed his hands as he told me with obvious glee, "Just one more week of rentals and I can move back into my house." How strange is that, a town where everyone hands their precious homes over to strangers for eight weeks each summer, year after year? In late August, we all know Wellfleet will soon become normal again. Summer ends after Labor Day for many locals because they get to reclaim their homes. Time to enjoy the beauty of fall and look forward to Oysterfest, the street party that unites residents and non-residents in a celebration of the lowly oyster. The joyous atmosphere that washes over our beloved town the weekend after Columbus Day is, in fact, due to the end of a long tourist season ...
A cool breeze comes up around four o'clock, whispering, as it meanders through the garden, "Goodbye, goodbye, say goodbye to summer." The flowers, powerhouses of growth through July and most of August, suddenly stall, as if their engines needed lubricant. The light is different, too. It slants in through the windows for a briefer period each afternoon. At night, the cotton blanket no longer provides enough warmth. Oh, yes, there is no denying it. Fall is on the way. Even the tourists at Gull Pond seemed a bit wistful yesterday when I accompanied Sven over for a swim. (That is his head in the water, beside the sunfish.) 
Children, soon heading back to school, wielded their shovels more purposely or used no shovel at all, determined to get as much play out of the last day at the beach as possible. Some of the older locals, down for a swim, seemed relieved at the imminent end to high season. The craziness of not finding a parking space behind town hall would soon be over. It will be possible to go out on Route 6 again without fearing traffic. 
This morning one of my friends rubbed his hands as he told me with obvious glee, "Just one more week of rentals and I can move back into my house." How strange is that, a town where everyone hands their precious homes over to strangers for eight weeks each summer, year after year? In late August, we all know Wellfleet will soon become normal again. Summer ends after Labor Day for many locals because they get to reclaim their homes. Time to enjoy the beauty of fall and look forward to Oysterfest, the street party that unites residents and non-residents in a celebration of the lowly oyster. The joyous atmosphere that washes over our beloved town the weekend after Columbus Day is, in fact, due to the end of a long tourist season ...
