The Summer That Never Was

Tomorrow marks the end of August, and though we still have a little ways to go until Labor Day and the "official" start of autumn, summer is pretty much over.  The question, however, is whether it actually ever began?

Sure, the ungodly heat, the summer storms, the explosions of algae in every pool, the swarms of flies and mosquitoes - all of those parts of summer were here.  It's still not hard to shake the feeling that we've been living in ghost towns for most of the year.  Zoos and aquariums have started opening back up, but crowds have been sparse due to social distancing guidelines.  Most of the visitors we've had have been locals - tourism from out of towners has greatly diminished.  For some facilities, that's not a huge challenge.  For others, especially those which are major tourist destinations, such as San Diego Zoo, that can be quite problematic.  

For as long as I've been doing this, autumn has been my favorite season at the zoo, followed by spring.  For the later, I enjoy the change in the weather, especially on those days when it's in the mid-30's but feels downright tropical after months of cold, when you peel of your sweatshirt in the sun and catch yourself listening to the sound of melting snow drizzling down from the roofs.  I love the plantings and the spreading of mulch, and the semi-controlled chaos of moving animals from their winter quarters back to their main enclosures.

In the fall, I enjoy the calming down and slowing up pace from the busy highs of the summer.  I enjoy the relative peace and quiet of the weekdays, especially in the afternoons, when school groups have headed home for the day.  Each day in September and October is a treat to be outside, made all the sweeter because of the knowledge that there won't be that many more of them before winter comes around.

Summer, to me, has always been about screaming, swarming crowds, exhausted animals irritated by heat and bugs and noise, and too much to do with too little time.  I never thought I would miss it.  I hope we never have another summer like this last one.