---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only way we know summer is coming is…"
description: "\"“The only way we know summer is coming is by the more chilling winds, the increased dust, the tawny color of the hills, and the general dying look of t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg"
---

#  The only way we know summer is coming is by the more…

![“The only way we know summer is coming is by the more chilling winds, the increased dust, the tawny color of the hills, and the general dying look of things.” quote by Caroline C. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg)

> ““The only way we know summer is coming is by the more chilling winds, the increased dust, the tawny color of the hills, and the general dying look of things.””

Caroline C. Leighton

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Describes summer's arrival through sensory cues—wind, dust, colors, and decay—highlighting nature's cyclical changes.

**In simple terms:** Summer is sensed by wind, dust, color, and decay.

Key Takeaway

Notice nature's seasonal signals.

Themes

nature season sensory perception change environment

Mood

observant poetic

Type

California:0 Flower:0 San francisco:0 Summer:1 Summer is coming:1 Know Summer:0 Summer Coming:1 Chilling Winds:1 Coming Chilling:0

When to use this quote

- weather forecasting
- landscape photography
- gardening

Key Concepts

environmental observation poetic description

Questions to Reflect On

- What sensory signs indicate seasonal shifts for you?
- How does decay signal new beginnings?

A Different Perspective

Sensory cues can be subtle and overlooked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [San francisco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/san-francisco/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/)

## Related quotes

> [Summer coming like a car from down the highway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/summer-coming-like-a-car-from-down-the-highway/)

[Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/)

> [We cannot stop the winter or the summer from coming. We cannot stop the spring or the fall or make them other than they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/we-cannot-stop-the-winter-or-the-summer-from-coming-we-cannot-stop/)

[Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/)

> [Summer is the worst time of all to be alone. The earth is warm and lovely, free to go about in; and always somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-nathan/summer-is-the-worst-time-of-all-to-be-alone-the-earth-is-warm-and/)

[Robert Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-nathan/)

> [I am very sure that I spent over 3000$ on games clothes and some furniture for my room now that the summer is coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-very-sure-that-i-spent-over-3000-on-games-clothes-and-some/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I'd be happy with this summer if it's all we ever had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-d-be-happy-with-this-summer-if-it-s-all-we-ever-had/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [That familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/that-familiar-conviction-that-life-was-beginning-over-again-with-the/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Don't remember summer even saying goodbye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/don-t-remember-summer-even-saying-goodbye/)

[David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/)

> [Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/spring-passes-and-one-remembers-one-s-innocence/)

[Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/)

> [Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/summer-after-all-is-a-time-when-wonderful-things-can-happen-to-quiet-2/)

[Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/)

> [One must maintain a little bittle of summer, even in the middle of winter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/one-must-maintain-a-little-bittle-of-summer-even-in-the-middle-of/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“I hate the Fourth of July. The early middle age of summer. Everything is alive and kicking for now, but the eventual decline into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/i-hate-the-fourth-of-july-the-early-middle-age-of-summer-everything/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [“To me, summer has always been about potential. This was especially true when I was in high school. Those 3 or so months between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/to-me-summer-has-always-been-about-potential-this-was-especially-true/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [You know it is summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-roach/you-know-it-is-summer-in-ireland-when-the-rain-gets-warmer/)

[Hal Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-roach/)

> [“We know summer is the height of of being alive. We don't believe in God or the prospect of an afterlife mostly, so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/we-know-summer-is-the-height-of-of-being-alive-we-don-t-believe-in/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [I only know that summer sang in me A little while, that in me sings no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/i-only-know-that-summer-sang-in-me-a-little-while-that-in-me-sings-no/)

[Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/)

## More by Caroline C. Leighton

> [“Sailors approaching the coast in a fog can recognize the Santa Barbara Channel by the smell of bitumen which floats on the water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-c-leighton/sailors-approaching-the-coast-in-a-fog-can-recognize-the-santa/)

Caroline C. Leighton

Explore all 2 Caroline C. Leighton quotes

## More California quotes

> [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/)

[Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/)

> [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/)

[Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/)

> [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/)

[Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/)

> [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/)

Sam Hinton

> [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/)

[Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/)

> [Many militarists would like to see California's votes vanish from the national electoral system, which would then become more Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swanson/many-militarists-would-like-to-see-california-s-votes-vanish-from-the/)

[David Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swanson/)

> [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/)

[Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/)

> [Take one round-trip flight between New York and California, and you've generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/take-one-round-trip-flight-between-new-york-and-california-and-you-ve/)

[Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/)

> [These French-style caramels are handmade in California. It's always hard to give them away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/these-french-style-caramels-are-handmade-in-california-it-s-always/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [The D.C. playbook is obsolete. It's time for the people of California to bring the agenda to Washington, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/the-d-c-playbook-is-obsolete-it-s-time-for-the-people-of-california/)

[Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/)

> [While there is an attempt by the Trump people to say that California isn't really America. California certainly seems like America to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/while-there-is-an-attempt-by-the-trump-people-to-say-that-california/)

[David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/)

> [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/)

[Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/)

> [“God will break California from the surface of the continent like someone breaking off a piece of chocolate. It will become its own floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ruby/god-will-break-california-from-the-surface-of-the-continent-like/)

[Laura Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ruby/)

> [You could have a hit in California that no one had heard of in Oklahoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-jackson/you-could-have-a-hit-in-california-that-no-one-had-heard-of-in/)

[Wanda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-jackson/)

> [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/)

[David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/)

[Browse all 2,036 California quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The only way we know summer is coming is by the more chilling winds, the increased dust, the tawny color of the hills, and the general dying look of things.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Caroline C. Leighton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-c-leighton/the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is-by-the-more-chilling-winds/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "California"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-c-leighton/the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is-by-the-more-chilling-winds/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/caroline-c-leighton-93589_california_the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is_2105018.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The only way we know summer is coming is by the more chilling winds, the increased dust, the tawny color of…” — Caroline C. Leighton",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Caroline C. Leighton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-c-leighton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“The only way we know summer...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-c-leighton/the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is-by-the-more-chilling-winds/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-c-leighton/the-only-way-we-know-summer-is-coming-is-by-the-more-chilling-winds/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
