Tropical storm Harvey made a landing in Ottawa yesterday, right before Labour Day. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds—we just got a grey, cloudy day with constant rain, much like this year’s spring and summer weather. Yet, it felt good to blame our American neighbours for that one. The US doesn’t wage war against Canada but it sends us hurricane remnants, economic uncertainty and bad Hollywood blockbusters.

The effect of Harvey on gas prices was more dramatic than the drizzle it spread in Ottawa. On Friday, I noticed it was priced at $1.32 per litre in a gas station on Merivale. When I walked by a few hours later the same day, it went down to $1.13 per litre and drivers were queuing to fill up before another price hike.

The Labour Day long weekend is traditionally a transition between summer and fall, but this year, I’m lost. Did we even have summer weather? Where, when?

Meanwhile, many stores already fast-forwarded to Halloween—supermarkets aisles are full of giant boxes of candy bags and school supplies were about to be sold out on Sunday night. Last Friday, my local Starbucks was unusually busy with a lineup extending into the parking lot. I was puzzled. “Am I showing up in the middle of the late-lunch rush hour?” I joked when I ordered. The barista sighed. “PSL…” I must have looked confused because she went on. “Pumpkin Spice Latte is back. The official launch this year is September 1.”

Maybe that’s how people deal with the change in seasons—they just follow marketing clues.

I stuck to black coffee, so I’m still lost somewhere between summer and fall.