Playlist for September
By Dolly Dearner
April is said to be the cruelest month, and we all learn as children that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. But what about September- it is more like the chameleon of months.
In years past, September was back-to-school month. Kids and their parents bought new clothes and school supplies to prepare for the Wednesday after Labor Day, the first day of the new school year. This made sense at a time when most buildings were not air conditioned. With the advent of cool schools, starting dates were moved into August, one of the hottest months of the year. The first Monday in September has now become a trickster. We wrench ourselves early out of the summer haze into the demanding fall schedule, start to get used to it and then, for one brief moment, it’s summer again! Swimming, golf, lake, cookout, or just lazing in the back yard. Then the next day: poof! It’s gone.
September brings ambiguity in the world of sports. It is the last full month of the regular baseball season and the first full month of the football season, both college and professional. For a few weeks, the summer sport and the fall sport are interwoven into the same calendar, with football commentators speculating about what’s to come and baseball commentators reminiscing about the season that is wrapping up.
Average temperatures on September 30 are at least 10 degrees lower than on September 1. This is not a smooth, gradual change, but a series of fits and starts that leaves you wondering what to wear today, tomorrow and next week, You may even need different clothes in the morning and afternoon of the same day.
September presents special challenges to gardeners. Tomato plants are still producing but look pretty derelict by this time. The gardener is faced with the uncomfortable choice of pulling up and discarding the flagging vines or waiting for Mother Nature to take them out with the first frost. If you want a fall garden (kale, lettuce, turnips or whatever) and haven’t started it yet, September brings a panicky feeling – do I still have time?! You probably do, but don’t dawdle. Most of these fall plants will survive light frost, but the larger they are at the start of cold weather, the better their prospects.
The 30 days of September are interwoven with starts and finishes – the limited period between summer vacation and the fall/winter holiday season, a meandering path from one to the next. September ushers in fall, which many people choose as their favorite season. Popular culture has given us at least four songs acknowledging the uniqueness of September. If you are past a certain age, you will be familiar with some of these; otherwise, you can enjoy hearing them for the first time.