Winding down

Summer is beginning to wind down. It is not as intensely hot as it was a few weeks back and it is actually nice to sit outside doing nothing, emphasis on doing nothing. The sun is still strong so exertion needs to minimal but you can feel the season has turned. The pool no longer feels like a warm bathtub and with the kids back in school, it is seeing fewer cannonballs and daredevil plunges off the diving board.



Fall approaches. The Carroll H.S. Dragons have already played and lost their first football game and Wednesday Sept. 1 sees the opening of dove season. For many, the dove is a symbol of peace. In Texas, it is hunted like a common varmint. People say there are only two seasons in TX, hot and hotter... but there are really several: Dove, Deer, Turkey and so on. I went on a dove hunt a few years back on a large spread out east of Austin. Although there was about ten of us, we shot only a few birds and the bag limit of 15 (per gun) was never in danger. The hunt is as much about camaraderie, telling stories and having a big outdoor grilling session in the evening, as it is about reducing the dove population. It is just another ritual that signals that fall is imminent.