Like all good things, seasons would come to an end. Baseball season wasn’t very long. Spring was still cold at night and April and May were sometimes somewhat rainy. I think most seasons lasted just long enough to play each of the opposing teams twice, meaning 14 games in 7 weeks. Throw in the Fourth of July weekend and that would account for a mid-June to mid-August regular season. Those players that were good enough to be selected for the All-Star Team could add another week or two to account for the annual tournament in a nearby town. I was fortunate enough to make that team twice.
That was it! Baseball was done until next spring. But that wasn’t the end of life! No, that opened up a number of other ways to spend our time. First, high school, college and pro football were starting. Backyard diamonds were magically transposed into battlefields made for passes, punts, and tackles. It didn’t matter if it had rained a little or an early snowfall had blanketed the gridiron, it was still playable! And play we did!
Autumn Sundays started early on the newly created golf course just outside of town. A local farmer had decided to turn his fields into a 9-hole course. It was rough, but we loved playing there. And every year, the course got better. Improvements in the fairways, greens, and tee boxes were obvious. Some of us felt the hazards were improved by making them more accessible. In other words, we were able to find our errant golf balls more often! My dad, brother and I were joined by my uncle those Sunday mornings until the golf season ended by cold weather or pheasant hunting season.
By then, school was in full swing and I couldn’t wait to get out into the local fields with my hunting buddies. Pheasant season was very short, less than a month I think. Rabbit season started at the same time and ended the next March, but we didn’t hunt them until after the first good freeze. It had to do with diseased rabbits not surviving the cold snap. Of course, there was deer season, but I didn’t partake in that but a few times.
That got us through those fall months and into the early winter season. The winter months brought another set of options to keep us busy. As much as we hated losing the activities we were enjoying, we were always happy to see a new one begin. I didn’t hate any of the four seasons, it just meant new challenges.