Summer's over

You know it’s the end of summer when:

• I don’t even bother to put the sun shade in the car window any more. The metal inside no longer gets hot enough to burn your skin.
• We can wait outside for the hour between school pick ups.
• We had a picnic in the park last week.
• The water parks have closed (mind you the temperatures were still in the 40’s when they closed, but that’s a Govt. tourism enterprise for you).
• The gardens are springing into life. We have grass outside our place now, and all the usual annuals such as marigolds, petunias, pinks, …
• The kids have to be in winter uniform at school next week!
• We went to a fashion parade last month and they were modeling winter clothes.
• We tell the 3 year old to guess numbers that start with 2 (sometimes 3) when we pass the temperature tower. Not numbers that start with 4. (There’s a building we pass on the way home that has the temperature displayed on it. As we approach everyone in the family guesses a number and we see who is closest.)

• The fact that it’s getting dark now just after 5pm.

Funny how, given the overcast days and the fact that the temperatures are dropping everyone is thinking of winter approaching. Those who have been here for the summer will probably wear winter clothes, just for the variation.