By Michael Johnson
PULASKI, NY – The North Country summer is a wondrous thing. Although it can be slow to start, and doesn’t often linger, the brilliant days and temperate nights are a long awaited break from the relatively cold climate we Oswego County residents choose to spend our lives in.
We put great effort into spending as much time outdoors as we possibly can, trying to savor every moment of short sleeves and sandals, before they are put away to await the return of appropriate weather.
Along with the fleeting summer comes a series of social rituals that define the warm time and give us something to look forward to as we head out to snow-blow the driveway yet again. Concerts, festivals, golf tournaments, sailing regattas…the list goes on and on.
But what of a summer without these events? What of a Summer where every day is much like the last. A summer with the approach of every weekend presenting the question,”What will we do?” For many, these annual events are a way to mark time, creating a feeling of accomplishment and making us feel that the warm days and nights are not wasted.
When I was a younger person, my mother would question my need to be outdoors for as long as the daylight lasted. My answer to her was always the same, explaining that before long the days would become darker and cooler, and I would be spending more time indoors than I cared to.
Being a “glass is half-full” type, I have been able to find some things to celebrate in the new reality we are living with the coronavirus constantly hovering in the backs of our minds. A quick look around on a beautiful summer’s day will show us roads busy with bicycles and walkers, hiking trails being well worn by the boots of those seeking wilderness and a view to savor, and the parking lots of boat launches overflowing with vehicles.
Without the distractions of sports, movies and live music, folks are getting out and enjoying the natural world and the abundance of natural resources we are surrounded with right here in our own backyard. Maybe, just maybe, some of this enthusiasm for the simpler pleasures will stay with us after this time of uncertainty passes.
Staying close to home and avoiding large crowds has allowed me to develop some new rituals, these small celebrations marking the time as the summer passes and the inevitable return of cooler and shorter days approaches.
Watching the sunsets over Lake Ontario has become an evening ritual that I savor more and more every day. No two are the same, and as the sun settles into the lake and the range of colors and intricate patterns of light and shadow evolve and deepen, I am reminded of the immenseness and fragility of our world.
As the sun falls deeper and deeper down through the evening sky, the range of hues projected onto the surrounding clouds and reflected on the shimmering surface of the lake intensify and create shades that defy description, quickly running through the list of adjectives used to speak for colors.
By now we have all seen the reports of a reduction of pollutants in the atmosphere as a result of reduced human activity during the pandemic.
Certainly no one wants to see our economic engines grind to a halt, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could maintain some of these improvements when our economy returns to a healthy level of activity?
Many questions remain unanswered, but each new day brings a renewal of hope for an end to this reality we are living, as we slowly step closer to a medical solution and a return to a more”normal” way of life.
As we follow this rocky path, taking the time to celebrate some newfound pleasures afforded by the change of routine keeps me smiling and looking for new ways to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.
