This is the time of year when summer house guests are thinning out at last and when some Mainers are considering how to slow down and quiet down the chaos of the summer season. There are those, of course, who just adore the frenzy and constant noise of a house full of dear friends or relatives, along with their dogs and cats and tennis rackets and swimsuits. The three weeks of fog and drizzle cooped them up inside, but some folks love that sort of thing. And house guests do vary in self-sufficiency and helpfulness.

Still, it’s a good time to take stock. If July and August leave you a bit wilted and maybe gasping for breath after a parade of summer visitors, some changes may be in order for a different summer in 2004.

Consider a resolve to tell good friends and even relatives that there is a lovely bed-and-breakfast nearby. The message would be that we would love to see you and spend a lot of time together and have dinner as a group. But then we could all have a quiet night and a more solitary breakfast with a relaxing second cup of coffee and time to read the morning paper before the next day’s activities begin.

This method will save at least as many friendships as it risks.

Not many would adopt the brisk approach to the matter taken by a Down East woman. House guests were leaving after a week’s stay, saying their long, cheery goodbyes. “And may we come again next year?” they asked. She replied: “No.” By mid-August, she’d had it.