The thermometer in July left no doubt of the connection between summer and extreme heat. We have now lost July of 2012, gaining August, a time when days are shorter and, one hopes, a tad bit cooler.

Shorter days: the next-to-worst part of the end of summer. Today, Aug. 2, the sun rises at 6:11 a.m. and sets at 8:13 p.m., a loss of 43 minutes of daylight from the solstice on June 20.

The worst part of August for many of our residents, of course, is that it heralds the approach of a new school year. Young people cling to summer and its freedom.

But there are cooler days and other activities just over the horizon. What we lose in summer we gain in the anticipation of a new season. The country music singer Garth Brooks summed up the tension of approaching change in a quote that speaks of hot days and fall nights:

“That smell of freshly cut grass makes me think of Friday night football in high school. The smell of popcorn and cigar smoke r...