Oh, the summertime is coming
And the trees are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Grows around the blooming heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?
And we'll all go together
To pluck wild mountain thyme
All around the blooming heather
Will ye go, lassie, go?
Summer solstice salutations, lovely readers!
Tonight at 9:42 Central Time (where I live), we will indeed welcome summer in with all the thick humidity, stagnant air, and hot temperatures. Tis the season for sweating buckets even just walking the short length down the driveway to the mailbox and the incessant swarming mosquitoes fighting to attack me. Needless to say, summertime is my absolute, hands down, least favorite time of year. Summer is a real struggle for me, as the intense heat and beating sun and I do not get along. I get physical effects from being outdoors for any little bit of time. Not to mention, as some people deal with seasonal depression and such during winter, I deal with that in the summertime. I have to remind myself that autumn and winter do indeed come round again...in fact, autumn is the very next season! {{squeals}}
However...
I admit that there are some rather blissful aspects to this season that I wanted to share with you.
No matter how old I get, there is this "summer feeling". That anticipation of lazy, sunshiny days and late, starry skied nights that comes in late spring, knowing that summertime is right around the corner. As a little girl, this meant summer break and no school, which I, of course, was through-the-roof excited about. As an adult, and even though I don't yet have children myself, and am certainly not a little girl anymore, there's still that "summer feeling". Year after year, it's there. Kind of like that "back to school" feeling that comes, even though it's been a long time since I was in school myself. Every August, I simply must buy a new pack of pens or a new notebook or something, because it just has that "back to school" feeling in the air. And every summer, that "summer feeling" brings back many fond summertime memories of my childhood, lots of nostalgia, and the list of things that I simply must enjoy during this season...lists of movies to watch, playlists of songs to listen to, recipes to make and foods to eat, adventures to go on close to home.
So yeah, summer may not be my BFF in terms of seasons or times of year. But it's pretty darn magical, in its own way. And I sure hope that "summer feeling" never, ever goes away.
♥ F L O W E R S !
♥ Lush, green trees! And all the many shades of green...who knew there were so many!
♥ Fresh fruit, especially watermelon, berries, and peaches.
♥ Butterflies, lightning bugs, and hanging out on summer nights.
♥ Summer showers…I’m not a lover of sunshine; rain is my jam.
♥ Summer tunes…I have certain songs that I love listening to in the summertime.
♥ The colorful-ness of summer. The Earth is just so rich and vibrant with color, and I love it!
♥ Summertime books…I’m loving having a few really summery novels to enjoy.
♥ Iced herbal tea, and lots of it, please. Particularly served in a mason jar with lots of crushed ice. {{smiles}}
♥ Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and basil. On sourdough, crispy with olive oil. I could live off this stuff!
♥ Celebrating the Fourth of July…it’s seriously one of my favorite holidays because it’s so simple and fun and I have so many happy memories from my girlhood days of this time of year.
♥ Roadtrips and just drives through the countryside in the summer are where it’s at.
♥ The sounds of summer…birdsong in the morning and an orchestral performance by the crickets at night.
♥ The scent of freshly cut grass...and honeysuckle. Ah, pure heaven!
♥ Summer nights, whether it be baking something in the kitchen or watching a movie on the couch or just shooting the breeze outside. I literally have tons of happy and sometimes crazy memories of my childhood summer nights (thanks to some rather interesting experiences in the neighborhood I grew up in). I could probably write a book!
♥ Wearing worn-in sandals every. single. day.
♥ The sunsets of summertime...absolutely spectacular. No questions asked.
♥ Coming into the air conditioning after being outside.
♥ The gentle whirr of the ceiling fans at night.
♥ Watching movies from my childhood summers.
♥ Smoothie season. So much yes.
♥ Overcast days...coziness can exist in the summertime, too.
♥ American flags all around town...literally, everywhere you look.
♥ The scent of grilling out on Saturdays...so nostalgic.
♥ The sound of the radio in the distance outside...more nostalgia.
Every summer, like the roses,
childhood returns.
~ Marty Rubin ~