Some people say – Why do y’all live up there in Michigan anyways? Because we have to-die-for summers, and spring and fall are pretty awesome, too. Except this year.

The summer of 2008 – in Michigan – has been the least warm summer I can ever remember. Spring was winter all spring, May came in July, June came in August, July never came, and August was August for only a week, until September came — and October is already on September’s heels, yet it’s only August. The temps almost never hit the 90s, which is very uncommon up here. My central air conditioner has remained stealth in the backyard. We borrowed more weather from Alberta than Alabama, which is not a typical Michigan summer. There were two days, all summer long, that I’d categorize as hot. It was never humid. For me, there are two memorable occasions concerning weather. The first one is that day, usually in March, where I brave a 50-degree day, with sun, and get out the Harley. All orange and fast and rested from winter, cabin fever is cured. That means spring is here. The second occasion is that day in fall when I get them out and put them on. On August 25th, a full month before the autumnal equinox, on a day when it should have been steamy and 90+ degrees, I did the unspeakable, the unthinkable: I got out my fuzzy slippers and put them on.

Summer would be gone except that it never came. It is darn cold already, and these fuzzy slippers just may get me through the oncoming ice age after all.