Done with Summer

Labor Day, in many ways, marks the transition from summer to fall. Actual autumn won’t begin for several more weeks, but Labor Day represents the last big touristy weekend in the mountains before snow and ski season arrive - the start of the shoulder season. Here in the foothills - at Flying Mule Sheep Company - Labor Day means I only have about six weeks of irrigation left. Labor Day means I need to order 1500 pounds of whole corn to start flushing the ewes in preparation for breeding. Labor Day means we’ll bring the feeder lambs home for finishing in a week or two. But this year, in the midst of the hottest stretch of weather we’ve had all year, Labor Day feels more like summer than fall.

I always reach a point during irrigation season when I grow tired of the day-in-day-out chore of dragging our K-Line irrigation system across the pasture. This year, due to problems with our Nevada Irrigation District (NID) delivery system, our pastures look drier than I would hope in early September. NID finally figured out we weren’t getting the water we paid for, but we won’t be able to catch up for another month or so (at which point, the season will be nearly over). In the meantime, the dry spots in our pasture are depressing. Heading into flushing and breeding season with our ewes, I’m a bit worried about whether we’ll have enough feed for the fall. Like every September, I’m putting my hope in an early germinating rain and moderating temperatures.

The temperature, though, at least for the next five days, won’t moderate. We’re in the midst of an intense heatwave. We’ve been at or above 100°F for the last three days; the next three days promise to be even warmer. Thankfully, with increasingly shorter days, our nights are comfortably cool, but the high daytime temperatures mean our water demand in our pasture remains elevated. And with the hot days, I try to get an early start to my chores - this morning, I had the water moved and next week’s fence built by 9 a.m.

While autumn has always been my favorite season, the uncertainty of when we’ll get rain - and my anxiety over the threat of wildfire until we DO get rain - have tempered my enthusiasm for the season in recent years. Autumn has always been my favorite time to be in the High Sierra; recent fire seasons have eliminated the opportunities to enjoy a campfire - and have even closed our national forests at times. As a deer hunter, I look forward to dear season (rifle season opens in three weeks); warm weather makes processing my venison (should I be lucky enough to get a buck) problematic. And obviously, the arrival of wet weather is directly related to the amount of forage we’ll have as fall turns into winter.

On the plus side, I suppose, by the end of summer, I find that I’m finally acclimated to the hot weather. A 100° day in September doesn’t feel as extreme as a 100° day in early June.The longer, cooler nights make sleeping more comfortable, and mornings more enjoyable. The possibility of 80° days in our 14-day forecast bring me hope.

I’ve always enjoyed transitions more than steady states. I love the changing of the seasons - none more so than the transition from summer to fall. And this Labor Day - more than most, I think - I’m ready for fall to arrive. I’m done with summer!