Summertime, summertime

After surviving the horrible winter as well as a very cold and wet spring, it appears that summer has now arrived. This weekend has been perfect. Sunny, warm, low humidity, a little breeze. I love it.

While I was working on the flowers today and while driving back and forth to the nursery a few times, I started to think about all of the things I love about summer. Many of these go back to my youth. Others are things that only an adult can appreciate. I started making a list in my mind. You know me and lists.

I love the smells. The smell of rain hitting the hot pavement and the sun-dried grass. I love the smell of the lilacs, freshly mowed grass, the farm fields-even the manure. A dead skunk is a summer smell, as is the smell of hot tar as it bakes in the sun. The smell of dirt in the garden, the flower pots, the farm fields, it smells different depending on whether it is wet or dry.

I love the heat. I love the way the car seats feel hot on your legs and back when you get into the car, and the feel of the air conditioning as it cools you off. I love the feeling of the hot wind as it blows in the car windows.  I love to sit in the sun, finding the right angle of the sun’s warmth on my face.

I love the progression of the day. The mornings are cool, sometimes with dew on the grass. The sun rises from behind the trees, casting a long shadow across the lawn. In the afternoon, there is a full sun shining over the entire yard, and the grass is hot. The daylight lasts until nearly 9:30 pm at its latest.   In the evening, I love the shade that cools me as the evening progresses, and the cool breeze of the late evening.

I love the animals and birds in the summer. Our birdfeeder has constant visitors. We live along the Mississippi River, so there are often birds who just stop by for a break as they head north for the summer. We can watch them from our deck. The hummingbirds feed at their feeder, just a few feet away from us. The beavers swim in our stream, the mink run along the bank, and we have deer crossing the yard on a regular basis.

I love the partying in the summer. We have friends and family over for cook outs. We set up games in the yard. People can sit on the front porch or back deck with a cold drink and chat until the mosquitoes take you away. The laughter and fun are intoxicating.

I love the night in the summer. We live far enough out of the city that we have a pretty good view of the stars. There is nothing better than lying in the grass and looking up at the sky on a summer night.  The frogs are a constant background noise most of the night. Sometimes we see the northern lights. The lightning bugs blink on and off. The June bugs clunk up against the screens.

I love the summer flowers. We have a limited number of perennials here, as we are in Zone 3. But we can plant almost anything as an annual. I love having pots of flowers on the deck, on the porch, and along the walk. I have a small garden where I plant a few annuals in with the perennials. I am  not a gardener, but I can appreciate the flowers. The flowers also bring the butterflies, which I also love to see.

I love the sounds of summer. The cars with the windows open and the music playing. The far-off sound of a motorcycle accelerating on the highway. The sounds of kids playing from down the street. The sound of the rain on the roof, of thunder as a storm approaches from miles away.

Would I appreciate all of these facets of summer if I hadn’t suffered through winter? Maybe not.

Would I get tired of summer if it lasted more than 90 days? Perhaps.

All I know is that I am loving it right now. And right now, I wish it would last forever.

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