Did you notice the red planet in the vicinity of an orange full moon in the southeastern sky over the past weekend? You could indeed see Mars really well with the naked eye (even with our aging eyes). And when people are actually preparing and planning to go there some day, that makes the viewing more enjoyable.

Of course, you can see some other planets right now, as well in other corners of the evening sky, if not still a meteor or two. It all has made the night sky quite interesting during the month of August that's now nearly completed.

I can't believe August is passing by so quickly especially since its one of the 31-day months with five Wednesday newspaper editions instead of just four.

And speaking of newspaper editions, remember that our deadline for the first edition in September after the long Labor Day holiday weekend will be this Friday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m.

And one more thing, good luck to the area 4-H'ers at the State Fair!