I’ve been reading everyone else’s blogs for this past week, and the theme has been the end of summer. None of the cues seem to apply here in Florida–we always have tourists (although not as many as we do between January and April), our schools go back in August, people almost always dress as if it were July, and of course, the weather is hot and sunny and the ocean is warm. As a result, after growing up in the Northeast and living for 30 years in New England, three years of living in Florida haven’t been enough to change my body clock, or my mindset, about what constitutes autumn. There was an article in our local paper today –the wonderful, independent St. Petersburg Times — about the Floridian “signs of fall.” They seem to involve citrus blossoms and some kind of berry. Things you have to go looking for to tell you what time of year it is don’t count, in my book. There’s no nip in the air, no change of color, no falling leaves unless a windstorm knocks them down. The days get shorter, but never as short as up north; even in the heart of winter it stays light until 6 o’clock, so when the clocks change, it’s not like suddenly coming home in darkness, there’s still plenty of light until almost 7. I miss the coming of fall clothes, the days when you can first wear a blazer or a nice new sweater. Although I still have my New York wear for when I travel, down here those “warm” clothes get used only a couple of times a year, usually at night. “Winter” is when I can wear a long-sleeved shirt. The upside to the endless summer is it’s not quite so distracting to have to work on a beautiful day. Most of the days are beautiful, so you get used to it. So what if I didn’t get to the beach in July or August? It was too hot anyway. I can walk the two blocks to the beach in October or November instead. And the nicer days in January will be, I know, about the same as the cooler days of a Vermont July. The one question I never have to ask is, “Where did the summer go?” It’s right outside. Pretty much all the time. And I never need snow tires. — Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer