Saturday was sooooo soggy and that wet weather put a kibosh on my walk.

Today was foggy, and even the dregs of the big ol’ harvest moon, did not make it light enough to leave as early as I would have liked. That ethereal setting and 100% humidity made it an easy decision to walk at Meijer this morning.

The first thing I noticed as I walked into the grocery store, was all the school supplies have been pushed aside and the harvest décor, Halloween candy and costumes have been hauled out.

Meijer was hopping this morning since they had some good sales, and I soon found myself weaving in and out amongst the shoppers, to try to get my desired laps in, and it got more difficult as time wore on.

The cider looked inviting, as did the peanut-coated caramel apples, and I spied something new – gourmet chewing gum, flavored like Fall food offerings … caramel apples and kettle corn. If you were thinking Summery thoughts, there was even gum by the name of “Front Porch Lemonade”, something that we could certainly be downing today.

Seeing those seasonal and unique flavors of chewing gum, made me think of the Teaberry, Clove and Black Jack chewing gum I used to enjoy years ago. That gum always arrived in special displays right around Halloween. I was never allowed to chew gum when I was growing up, but, when I got older, and my allowance was larger, I remember loading up on my favorite of the trio, Black Jack, with its unique, licorice-flavored black gum sticks.  Of course, I couldn’t pull one over on my mom who knew right away I had been chewing it, since my mouth reeked of anise flavoring and my tongue would be all black.  She would admonish me by saying “ladies don’t chew dark-colored gum because it looks uncouth … chew Chiclets instead!”

I did some shopping while at Meijer, as I’ve been loading in pantry items for the long Winter ahead, though it sure doesn’t feel much like Fall or Winter out there today. When I came out of the store, it was downright hot.

So, here we are, on this last weekend of Summer. In my recent treks down Emmons Boulevard, I’ve noticed so many pots and hanging baskets are now bedraggled-looking with shrivelled-up blooms, courtesy of the drought-like conditions which prevailed week after week earlier in the Summer.  But , so many of the Boulevard’s houses that rely on sprinkler systems or daily hand watering, still have  blooms, as pictured above, that have weathered the heat and are clearly not ready to yield to the jewel-toned chrysanthamums that are already gracing our local nurseries.

On this sweltering hot day, in the midst of a torrential rainstorm that just popped up, it seems hard to believe Harvest and Halloween are the next events as we soon usher in Autumn.