The Cusp of Summer 2010

I love the month of June, as it heralds so much promise. There are so many things to do and anything can happen. June in Minnesota is always warm, at one point or another (I remember when Yeltsin and Gorbachev came to the Twin Cities in June many years ago and there was a bitter wind). But this June I was away, reluctantly trading the sparkling early summer weather here for the unknown humidity horrors of the East Coast. (In fact, the weather was wonderful, for a change). So June moved much too quickly through my scope and before I knew it, it was July.

This July has been humid -- "it's just like New York," I say. "That's awful," is the usual reply, to which I agree. But in July we have too many events to attend, and have to pick and choose. The Irish Festival, the Acquatennial? Or just hike out to Canterbury Park for another splendid day of racing? But the glorious events of the late summer still hang in the mist of the future. We know the heat and humidity will soon switch to days of glorious dry heat with cool evenings, perfect for every family event and outing.

But in this July there was no flip in the weather; we segued into August with more heat and humidity than I can ever remember. Heat index warnings, thunderstorms and flooding have taken their toll on the Twin Cities this year. Last Tuesday I drove across town during the thunderstorms; hit standing water on 35W and in Uptown (though managed to avoid the reported waist-high water, parked in the shelter of a gas station awning for nearly a half-hour waiting for the torrential rains to slow. Today, Lakeville is flooding, and we are deciding whether or not to trek to Canterbury Park to see which horses are the best mudders. Instead of serene days of sun and clear skies we are faced with ongoing angst.

And now, the realization is beginning to appear on the horizon of my thoughts; something I am unable to dislodge with clear thinking -- before we know it, it will be time for the Minnesota State Fair, the end of racing at CP, and we will have only the Renfest to carry us through until the curtain comes down yet again on the warm weather in Minnesota.

That is a dreadful thought. Maybe I should sit outside in whatever moments of sun can be gleaned from this day and do some serious handicapping.