As we enter August here in the midwest, we enter the season of county fairs, festivals, farmer’s markets, and the last big month for spending time at the beach or the lake before school and cooler weather start. At least we’re still hoping for cooler weather. And more rain.

All summer I’ve felt a definite lack of something. Yes, the grass in mid-Michigan has been brown (I mean, completely and utterly brown) for a month or more because of our lack of rain, but it was something else we were missing.

Then I figured it out. It’s not just rain we’re lacking. It’s summer storms. Thunder, lightning, and gusts of wind that usually liven things up around here during the hot months.

We’ve had almost none of it. And I miss it.

As a child I stood with my father in the open garage of our tri-level house on Lesperance Court and watched storms in the summertime. Nowadays I watch from our front doorway or the sunroom.

But not this year. The stillness and the heat have been ever present this summer. But without the regular cycle of a build-up of humidity and the fresh feeling of cool, drier air after a big storm, this summer has felt very strange indeed.

We got a bit of a storm last night and this morning is cooler and it is supposedly not going to break 80 degrees. And I’m grateful for that.

We spent Saturday evening at the Ingham County Fair enjoying the animals and rides and Polish sausage and corndogs.

We’re enjoying the last of what has been a hot, dry, quick summer. What do you do as summer enters its last month? Take a moment to add your vote to this month’s poll, found at the top of the left sidebar. And enjoy what’s left of your summer.