Although summer officially began its reign almost two full months ago, it only now has attained its peak. And from the summit there's only one way to slide: Pessimistic Lord Byron warned that in August, English winters begin.

It is true that the year is beginning to show some wrinkles. Days grow a bit shorter, fast fading at a rate of 15 to 20 minutes with every passing week. Since the beginning of summer our allotted ration of daylight has been cut by almost an hour and a half.

Even so, August today lasts a little longer today than it did a couple of thousand years ago. Arrogant Roman Emperor Augustus decided that he wanted any month named in his honor to last at least as long as the month named for Julius Caesar, so he added a day. Maybe that's why the infernal furnace fires of August, bearing down without mercy, seem so endless and overwhelming.

August's new moon brings a fresh sense of urgency, a realization that the spring flowers are now going to seed and that the school bells in one fashion or another will soon be ringing. The ripeness of another summer season is beginning to show, alerting us that harvest time nears.

This month is the year at high noon -- turquoise skies, puffy clouds, field crops standing tall -- but also a warning that there's a sharp turn in the road ahead. Maybe it's time to start thinking about fall's cool fashions.

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