Now is the summer of our quarantine

Made swelt’ring noonday by this sun so bright

And all the mists that swirled around our house

Are into muggy misery transform’d.

Dag-GONE it, it’s been hot!

Even so, we’re considerably better off than most of the country. Judging by the row of mailboxes down at the corner, our little road has pretty well filled up with folks fleeing the climate (in many senses) of their home states. The Executive Council and I arrived at the end of June, having driven from California in six days and tarrying only in high-end hotel rooms that she personally sanitized the dickens out of before I was allowed to unpack. Now, our self-isolation behind us, we’re out and about in a socially distant manner. Not as distant as some, however: Sherron Williamson and her sister Barbara arrived a good week before we did, and we saw them on their porch for the first time last Friday; the Jaegers arrived around Memorial Day, and their neighbors have just discovered that they’re here! Apparently, they’ve been spending a lot of time on their boat.

Why does it feel like August in New Jersey used to when I was a kid? We didn’t have air conditioning there, either. After all, it’s Maine — who needs air conditioning?

Boating and beaching are great ways to beat the heat, but you’ve got to get out of the water sooner or later. And you can only take so many day trips in your air-conditioned, two-ton family room on wheels.

Did I mention that it’s hot?

Instead, try these easy-to-learn, fast-moving games that (dare I say it?) the whole family will enjoy. They’re equally fun with only two players, if it’s just you and your sweetie in the house.

1. Carcassone. The game board is 84 tiles depicting roads, fields, walled cities, and the like. You assemble it as you play, so every game is different. You score points for building things, but it’s not about territory so much as strategy. Everything is visual, so prepare to have a bright seven-year-old kick your butt in 30 minutes or less.

2. Monopoly Deal. I hated Monopoly as a kid. The game would drag on for years, because someone would talk his way out of bankruptcy by offering the $200 from the next umpteen times he’d pass “Go” to his creditors. The childhood version Deb played was equally endless, as it was common practice to hide most of one’s cash by sitting on it. By contrast, Monopoly Deal is a card game — no dice, no tokens, no mind-numbing laps around the board vainly trying to land on that last railroad. You can amass the three blocks of properties needed to win in 15 minutes, and there are plenty of wild cards to help you along. Just beware of sudden, catastrophic reversals of fortune . . .

3. Ticket to Ride. Set aside at least an hour for this one. The board is a map of the United States, and you win by building railroads between cities as instructed by your route cards. It gets really tense toward the end, when you’re angling for that last bit of right-of-way in the middle of nowhere to finish your transcontinental line. It’s also a great way to learn geography, especially if you're seated on the Canadian edge of the board and have to read the map upside-down. The European version kicks it up a notch with terrain-specific rules, and you haven’t lived until you’ve tried to find Erzurum. (Hint: it’s in Anatolia.)

Sherman’s has all three in stock, and they have air conditioning! Run into town and get ’em, and while you're there, patronize your favorite eatery. You’ll thank me later.

And now, some late-breaking real news: the Sprucewold Association’s annual meeting will occur on Saturday, Aug. 8 via Zoom at 10 a.m. Watch your inbox for the agenda, budget information, and the Zoom link.