Ah, summer. Welcome. You certainly took your time getting here.
After a winter with a major blizzard and several smaller "snow events," followed by one of the wettest springs in recent history, it's time to get ready for summer's bounty and shift into a more relaxed mode.
Yep, there will be the usual annoyances: Bugs – including the possibility of Zika-carrying mosquitoes – and jellyfish, Code Orange air-quality alerts, beach traffic on Route 50, outbound campers on Interstate 70 and TSA lines at the airport.
But they'll all be offset by the fun of vacations and family get-togethers, summer camps, picnics, outdoor concerts, street festivals, farm markets, swimming pools, major and minor-league baseball games and more.
The Howard County Fair in West Friendship marks its 71st year, running from Aug. 6 to the 13, giving suburbanites and city slickers the chance to see where the milk in their ice cream cone comes from, how crops were once plowed by horses and mules, and what a chore it is to put up foodstuffs for the winter.
Traffic tends to be lighter although the long days and warmer weather are prime for road construction, and the bottlenecks it brings. Gas prices in the Baltimore region, tracked by the auto club AAA-Mid-Atlantic, were at $2.30 a gallon last week, nearly 50 cents a gallon cheaper than the same period last year. State biologists are predicting a bountiful year for blue crabs from the Chesapeake, a regional treat. Springtime rainfall – more than one inch above normal in May – gave some crops and home gardens an early start.
Enjoy the season. Tune up the air conditioners. Be mindful of changes in habits – more children cycling, heading to playgrounds, ballfields and other activities. Swim with a buddy, never alone. And don't forget the sunblock (with the dermatologist-recommended SPF rating of at least 30).