Falling for an early autumn

It began Aug. 31.
After weeks of hot, sticky dog days of August, we suddenly were treated to a tase of fall.
Morning temps have been in the upper 50s. My wife Mary wore and I almost put on a jacket on our daily 6:20 a.m. walk.
Lunchtime temps have been in the mid-70s -- great to get out and walk at lunch time without fear of working up a sweat.
It simply does not get better than this -- weather-wise -- in Virginia this time of year.
As my son Dave said this morning, while I spoke to him by cellphone as he walked from Penn Station to his job as a Macy's Human resources exec on Sixth Avenue and 45th, "it feels like the first day of school today."
Speaking of the first day of school....
Strangely, although the weather is suited for it, the public schools have not yet reopened here in Virginia.
Apparently there is a state law that requires schools to stay closed until the day after Labor Day. And, since Labor Day is absolutely as late as it can be this year on Sept. 7, that means no school till Tuesday, Sept. 8.
It's an extra week for me of fewer cars and no school buses to compete with on my commute to work, but it does seem strange. Seems the tourism industry got this law passed years ago.
Could be no problem, but then again, if we have more snow this winter -- as the Farmer's Almanac is predicting -- the schools might find themselves in an unnecessary scheduling bind.
As it is, in my home Loudoun County district, the number of scheduled days is the minimum 180 this year, down from 183 last year.
Later.