We woke up this morning to a cloudy sky and the promise of the first cool front of the year due to arrive late this afternoon and expected to bring with it a lot of rain. The first cool front of the year is a highly anticipated and much prognosticated event here in South Texas. Our local celebrity weatherman, Dale Nelson, has been talking about this predicted front for more than a week. Anticipation is high. The whole town is excited about the possibility of cooler weather.
Now, if you're reading this from somewhere north of Austin, Texas, you probably won't really appreciate the fact that today at 4:30 p.m. my outdoor thermometer reads 74 degrees. The promised rainfall has yet to materialize, but it is thundering now, so I'm still hopeful.
This nice cooler weather has me thinking of all things autumn ... soups and stews ... pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns ... falling leaves ... Friday night football ... and cool nights of sleep with the windows open. Okay, I know it's a long shot, but a girl can dream. This is still South Texas and by the weekend it's bound to be in the nineties again.
For most of the year, living in South Texas is somewhat akin to living on the face of the sun. This summer was particularly hot and dry. We had no rain for months on end and more than 35 days with the temperature above 95 degrees. There was at least one day when my outdoor thermometer actually showed heat over 130 degrees. I know, I know, that's in full sun and it's not accurate like the weather service measures temperature. But any way you look at it, it's still pretty darn hot.
So I'm embracing fall, even if it's just for today. I've got a huge stew pot filled with The Soup Nazi's Mexican Chicken Chili simmering away on the stove top. I'm even considering opening my windows and letting some fresh air in. After all, it's officially fall and "the air smells of promise." And Grams made it ... through another long hot Texas summer.
The title of this blog is from a poem written by my friend and former colleague Allen Itz. He writes at least one new poem every day. They are published daily at Blueline Poetry. Take a look.
