I woke up this morning--way too early as usual--to a smear of grey on my windows.  Looking out over the rooftops, I could almost believe the streets and sidewalks were dusted with a thin layer of  snow but then the air conditioner clicked on to remind me what time of year it really was.  In this summer's relentless heat, it's hard to believe winter will ever come.  But Labor Day--the unofficial end of summer--is almost here.  Now at the tail end of the summer season, I am finally going back to Maine where the air will be fresh and cool in the morning and at night I will go to sleep snuggled  under a comforter, the windows wide open and no air conditioner pumping out a stale and manufactured version of winter.