Summer rocks because:
- going barefoot, being able to feel the temperatures and textures of stuff on the bottom of my feet
- wearing just a few items of clothing, feeling the air on your skin – going outside without a full armament against the weather
- willingly jumping out of bed, dressing and going outside because it’s so nice outside
- the smells: lilac and lily of the valley to roses, ripe peaches and melons, and always earth and growing things (when there isn’t smoke), does November ever smells good?
- the food:
- barbecued meats,
- veggies that couldn’t be fresher because they were picked when dinner preparation began
- eating berries right off the bush
- farm markets with offerings grown by professions, like garlic scapes, cherries, peaches and corn, requiring more land, history or expertise than a backyard garden,
- opening the windows and feeling a breeze waft through the house
- sitting under the shade of a tree that’s 150 years old, still thriving and knows a few things
- riding a bicycle, everywhere possible
- 12 to 16 hours of daylight and possibly sunshine, realizing at 6:30 pm, there are still outdoor activities, requiring light, that can be done for another couple of hours, and then,
- hot summer nights, sitting comfortably outside at midnight, listening to the wind in the trees, or watching people cavort on downtown streets from an urban cafe
- thunderstorms, being gobsmacked at the power of nature, and thankful for the nurturing rain
- long weekends, the perfect excuse to relax and enjoy all of the above with people
- critters cavorting all over the backyard, including chipmunks making more chipmunks in the shadow of a flowerpot
- natural aesthetics – my hair is full of body, skin has a healthy glow, muscles toned and body lithe from constant outdoor activity and delicious fruits and vegetables
- loose grammar (use of pronouns and parallelism in bullet points) because it’s too awesome to sweat the small stuff
My gut wants to know why we don’t live where it is summer all the time, since it is so enjoyable. But looking at my list, many of the joys come from the evolution of the seasons. Summer is incredible because of all that leads up to it (spring), the aftermath of summers exuberance (early fall) and the harshness that isn’t it (later fall and winter).
That’s the summer I love.