With Halloween just around the corner and the rain falling in sheets, it is time to consider the possibility that summer might be over.

This has been the wettest October ever in these parts, and you could say that we know a thing or two about the subject. It is that time of the year when everything aches a little, when nothing dries out completely. That time of changes, when the leaves go from green to yellow to gone, seemingly faster all the time. It is time to chop firewood, to make chili and to watch football.

For the Ikkatsu Project, a few upcoming items: Send in your thoughts about making 2016 a Plastic-Free Christmas – share some hints and ideas for using less plastic this holiday season.

A new shellfish study will be announced in the next few weeks, a little bit different than some of the others. As soon as we know the results, they will be posted on the Data page.

Thinking about a party in January… because nobody has a party in January. More on this soon.

Also, a little further down the calendar, we’ll be organizing the 2017 Tacoma Shoreline Survey, collecting data for a microplastics study and documenting armoring and other shoreline development. There will be opportunities for volunteers on this one… drop a line if you’d like more information.

And, more than anything, this is the time of year for being on the water, for sharing the water with a massive humpback whale, for breathing the cool autumn air and feeling the pull of the current with every paddle stroke. Just remember to dress for the weather.