Savor summer while we can

Can you hear it?

The sound of the clock ticking, summer slipping away?

Yes, there's still plenty of time left, but it's July 15 already, halfway through the season, if you count June through August as the summer months.

The Fourth of July is already 11 days in the past, Crazy Days starts Thursday and the Red Willow County Fair is in a couple of weeks -- can back-to-school sales be far behind? Tomatoes are ripening on the vines, and the Farmers Market is back in business each Saturday morning at the old West Ward school.

Let's not dwell on the future -- even if it is only weeks away -- but let's enjoy each summer day as it happens.

Let's take in the sidewalk sales, finding bargains right here in our hometown.

Let's turn out for the local fair and community celebrations. We're sure to run into old friends we haven't seen since, when, last summer?

Let's take the kids and grandkids to the lake, creating memories they'll carry for the rest of their lives.

Let's work in some time for ourselves, performing a few "honey-do" tasks in exchange for an extra round of golf or a trip to the favorite fishing hole.

And, let's leave the cell phone turned off, as we get away for a few days on the summer vacation, taking a good book along.

Fall football season will be here soon enough, and we'll enjoy it when it arrives.

But for now, let's savor each summertime minute before it gets away.