Time Marches On

It's Fall, and in my hometown the State Fair just started. It brings back memories of cool days, and no school on the first Friday of Fair week. We all got passes so it was free to get into the Fair too...lots of rides, lots of animals, all the new cars on display. Some of the rides were a part of Bell's Amusement Park, which sat at the southwest corner of the fairgrounds. The park was open all summer and from the time I was no more than 7 or so, we spent many summer evenings there. And we drove by it each day on the way to school...grade school, junior high, even high school. A huge globe sat at the point farthest southwest, along with a putt-putt golf course.

Today I read about the opening of the Fair, and learned that this Amusement Park, this big piece of my childhood, was gone. Maybe the lease became too expensive, or attendance was down. Whatever the reason, everything was dismantled and removed. I live in another time zone now, and haven't been by there in about a year. So, I have no idea what the space, once full of rides, lights, and sound, must look like now that it's used as a parking lot. And I'm ok with not seeing it...because what I see is still the same place it was when I was a little kid. In my memory, the rides still work, at night the lights and sounds are a wonderland of fun. School is out, and it's summer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the year is 1961.

Gray skies and cool breezes

The calendar says it's still summer, but I'm hoping our current weather sticks around a while. Gray skies, chilly breezes, rain...yeah, this is the weather I hoped for here. Time to consider all the fall garden planting; change the landscape for a new look next spring. We do have lots to plant...trees, grasses, shrubs. And a few things to move. And lots of prep work...most of which we won't likely do ourselves. We are after all, not as young as we used to be.

There is something about the smell of fall...rain cleansing the air, fires in fireplaces, color...color everywhere. Makes me feel like a kid again...and after all, it is said that smell is one of the bigger triggers of memory. I have to agree! Many a time I've stopped whatever I was doing because a smell transported me back to a much earlier time in life.

All in all, it's not been a bad summer...not enough moisture, but hey...less hot than last year! Less heat is always good. Now that we're starting to get teased with rainfall, we can begin (fingers crossed) to cut back on all the watering we need to do. Lots of watering that first year until plants are well established. And, what heat we did have fried a few things, but most have managed to survive. So far.

Now it would be ok for the sun to be out, but there needs to be a good breeze and a high of about 60...maybe 65. A few clouds would not hurt...but it would be ok to have a few breaks with blue skies. But, that's not happening today it seems. And that's ok too. It's just about right...don't need the heat on, or the a/c...what could be better?