Waiting for Fall

The cool air (relatively speaking) that greeted us as we walked out of the house this evening (it was 67 degrees before the sun went down), hinted at what is to come. Leaves on the ground in the backyard when I cut the grass on Friday night did the same.

After one of the hottest (and strangest) summers on record, can we begin to think about autumn? Of course not. But the steelhead addict always gets excited a little too early. The fawns still have their spots, but they are fading fast. Yellow school buses will be out next week. And soon there will be a few geese overhead. Then the steelheader's palms will start sweating a little and we'll longingly look to the west, hoping for the first beautiful gray, cool rain to get things started. A few of us will even try casting along the river mouths in hope for an early arrival.

Yep, summer is winding down and the new year is coming. It's not yet here, but soon. The waiting has begun.