August is the month of sunflowers in the fields, long days at the shore and on the water, unhurried evenings with friends on the porch while the sturgeon moon rises, a time when summer feels fleeting at best. It is also the month when more than a few Islanders feel they have reached their limit. The heat and humidity, the dust, traffic and crowds — some days it all feels like too much.

August is like the inverse of March, that winter-weary month when Islanders can only think of summer with fondness. The long days, warm-sand beaches, clear ocean water for swimming — some days it feels like it will never come.

And then it does.

Such are the rhythms of a resort community — always changing.

For all the August-loving visitors, this is a month to savor.

And for all the August-weary Islanders, here’s a reminder of what’s around the corner: September, with its shortening days, warm-sand beaches, clear ocean water for swimming.

Add fishing and scalloping, new apples, the last of the corn, tomatoes and peaches — and that’s a recipe to clip and save for autumn.