Don’t Tell Me the Summer’s Over Until the Fat Lady Sings While Taking My Boat Out of the Water [PHOTOS]

Obviously there are some factual errors in my blog title. There is no "fat lady" who takes my boat out of the water and if there was, she would not be singing. I admit, for teachers and kids who are back in school, the summer is indeed mentally over, but as long as my party barge, Radio Waves, is parked in its slip on Candlewood Lake, my personal perception of summer continues until October 26 when the boat is ordered out of the water, for dare I say, winterization.

I equate "lake," "boat on lake," "boat cruising to Down the Hatch," and boat docking at my buddy's Scott and Tracy's lake house as still being a part of summer. Fall begins on Wednesday, Sept 23 and so begins nature's show of colors, a highlight of living in New England.

I will embrace the season by tasting everything "pumpkin."......pumpkin lattes, pumpkin beer, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin soup, pumpkin bagels, etc. Make sure to attend I-95's Connecticut Harvest Jam on October 10 at the Ives Concert Park. Yes, there will pumpkins!

One of our favorite activities during October, before the boat is dragged out of the water, is our fall foliage tours on Candlewood Lake. Mindy and I will usually schedule 3 excursions during the month inviting friends to share the scenery. Sometimes the temperatures can be in the low to mid fifties. As our friends approach the dock, they've brought along winter jackets, snow boots, and winter hats with ear flaps, and as we begin our tour and they begin to shake from the cold, trying not to cry like a girl, I can tell they're having a marvelous time! After an hour on the water, the begging begins for us to return to the dock....Buck up! What a bunch of weenies!

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Summer's not over until the party barge hits dry dock. Just one more thing, a quick shout out to the fine folks at New Fairfield Town Hall. Is it absolutely necessary to place a sign that reads, "Boats must be out of the water by October 26th" at the town park boat docks at the beginning of the season? Buzz kill.....just sayin'