Autumn

Autumn

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Summer

In truth I hate summer.

I hate its heat and humidity, and the almost constant glare of the sun which makes dark glasses and wide brimmed hats and soft cotton clothing with bandannas a necessary uniform of all Southern men and women.

Then again there is much I do like and enjoy about summer.  The early mornings on my deck just after sunrise, the overnight breezes cooled with the scent of the marsh and oak mast and how the Spanish moss shifts and swings with the slightest caress of the wind and how the birds sing in subdued cadence as if still adrift and lost in an early morning dream.





I like how the summer brings us the smell of fresh mowed lawns; the rich cut odor of green. The first of season farmed picked watermelon, hard and heavy, and when thumped, promises that rich and cold sweet taste of our lost youth. 

The laughter of children as they jump and play and splash in kiddie pools hidden within the back yards with their plastic beach balls and the way the little girls long hair plasters to their cheeks and the silly giggles that make me smile and remember.

And shade....shade and shadows make summer bearable especially when afloat in an old wooden jonboat with your canepole and a small can of worms and the waters are tea colored with tannin and how the cork slips gently beneath the water and you feel the strong pull of a bluegill and as you fight the fish you can smell the musty sharp scent of the swamp and how the suns warms your shoulders and you know for certain this is the best day of your life.

I like the beach on a hot summers day with a good chair, a large umbrella, a cold beverage and a book as the seagulls scream for my attention and the lovely ladies in their perfectly fitted swimsuits, all legs and smiles. The wind brisk and cool off the waves and I like the sound of the surf and how my toes feel cool as my feet sink into the wet sand. Though the best part of a day at the beach is the cold shower afterwards and then how a tall glass of cold sweet tea, drained quickly, returns my life to normal.

When I was young the best part of summer were the evenings, the quiet moments with just the song of crickets and tree frogs and fireflies; those little winks of bright green. The joy as we chased and bottled their glow for our bedroom and how we feel asleep to a gentle yellow green night light of dreams. Fireflies are the fairies of soft summer evenings.

I like too how in the deep dog days of summer, when I'm out in the yard and if I stand quietly still, I can hear the cicadas with their tree hugged screamed mating song, and if I'm lucky, I might catch an occasional long distance and forlorn whistle of the Bobwhite quail, which evokes memories of my childhood summers and long naps in a hay field just before the late afternoon thunderstorms came charging in off the coast.


Then we have Independence Day - the best part of summer. This day, the forth of July, is to me the essence of summer. The birth of our great country with its fireworks, and backyard grills with sweet brambly sharp toned odors of burgers and hotdogs. The backyard tables dressed in checkered cloth loaded with watermelons and slaw and bakedbeans and ice cold pitchers of tea and metal buckets filled with beer.

I love best the evenings after all the food has disappeared and the chairs are moved just so for the evening of fireworks and fun. I like how the children gather and each after the other light their little sticks of sparklers and how the cheery red bits shower down and how the little girls scream and the boys dance and tease each the other. I love the distance boom and heavy thunder when the main show begins out over the water. It's not unlike warfare of a long now almost forgotten nightmare of battle. A battle of remembrance for those ghost of the night responsible for our celebration. 





Really, I do so hate summer.

Stephen

29 comments:

  1. Well said. I too hate this humidity and glaring sun but it sure beats snowdrifts, shoveling, plowing and hauling firewood. Happy Independence Day.

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    1. And to you, my dear lady. Thanks, and I've added you to my links.

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    2. Thanks. Not writing much of any significance anymore but still enjoy reading blogs.

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  2. Stephen and Sweet Wife,
    Great post! Enjoy your day listening to the little critters, the children playing, the makings of a BBQ, a sweet tea, and fire works.
    Happy Independence Day To You Both!

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    1. Thanks, Sandy...now, if she'll ever return from shopping for just 'the right' sandals.

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  3. I don't like the heat & humidity of the South either, but I do love summer and everything it brings.

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  4. I love Summer. Just not this Summer.

    Hope you have a happy Independence Day Sir.

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  5. Friend, I think you have mastered the art of the curmudgeonly love letter.

    Happy Independence Day to you and your sweet wife!

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    1. Chuckle...you've pegged me. Have a great day, my dear sweet lady.

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  6. i love it when you write posts like this - love it! i even love the sarcasm at the end. you are a gifted writer, dear sweet one...and i love reading your stuff!

    Happy Independence Day!

    your friend,
    kymber
    (p.s. - i love summer!)

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    1. Ah, Shucks. Thanks, my sweet kymber. Not sure if I'm a good writer, but isn't it pretty to think so...

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  7. You have brought back memories of some of my childhood in Arkansas. Lighting bugs in a jar, kids playing, home made ice cream, fishing with a cane pole.(That was way bigger than me.) Sweet tea, the smell of honey suckle...... Sigh.
    Kinda brings a tear to my eye. I can close my eyes, and see all of those things. And can also even remember some of the smells, of those long ago days, and nights.

    Here is hoping that you and sweet wife, have a happy fourth.

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    1. Thank you, my good friend...and you have a great evening too. I hear firecrackers...

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  8. I can relate, and do. The beach for us today, was just as you describe (minus the nap after the shower).

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  9. You sure do hate summer all right . . .

    Enjoy!

    Happy Independence Day.

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    1. Yes, indeed. You have a great Independence Day too.

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  10. Ah, brings memories of visiting my grandmas' farm during the summertime. Lightnin' bugs, summer storms, playing in the creek, getting a cold soda from out of the basement, runnin' barefoot in the grass (minus the little 'hazards' left by the chickens that got stuck to the bottom of your foot), leaping out of the top floor opening of the barn down onto the hay bales still on the wagon, pillaging the blueberry & gooseberry plants.... thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    Happy Independence Day to you & Sweet Wife. Stay cool & sorry that you don't like summer ;^)

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    1. You're more than welcome, my friend. My pleasure. You have a great one too. Thanks.

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  11. Phyllis (N/W Jersey)July 4, 2012 at 9:16 PM

    The best part of a summer day is right before dawn. The stars are slowly fading, the birds are stretching their little wings and chirping. It is just so lovely! The sun pokes over the mountains ...then my damn rooster starts and the whole coop sounds like a battlefield. Seems to be nicer where you are!
    Have a Happy Fourth of July!!

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    1. Thanks, Dear Phyllis, it's nice where you are too, I'm sure.

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  12. Went to a small town fireworks display on the third. Done on the third so as not to conflict with the much larger one in Raleigh. My favorite is Liberty, North Carolina, where they do theirs after the fourth to get a discount on their fire works - LOL.

    I worked today, so with staying up for the fireworks, I was tired.

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  13. I never attend firework shows, these days. Too many people, traffic, and hours of waiting for a thirteen minute show. Here at home I've a/c, drinks, and food and my books as I wait for the fireworks on television. Take care, my friend, and thanks.

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  14. Well at least you only have 12 or so hours of daylight to keep you warm in the summer. Short of moving to the southern hemisphere for half of the year, there is really no getting around the summer heat. Hope the AC keeps working and that you had a good Independence Day.

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    1. I did, Mrs. S., nice and quiet and cool. Thanks, my friend.

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  15. We are retired and have a motorhome. We don't use it as much as I would like but we are using it more each year. We do a "reverse" on the Northerners who go South for the winter. In the Summer we go to Canada and a few of the Northern states to vacation. I have tried going to the popular Summer sites and plugging in so we can run the air conditioner but it feels so contrived. Here we are enjoying the great outdoors in the USA and we are stuck in a motorhome with the air conditioning running full blast! So now we save our trips to the Southwest (which I love) for the Spring and Fall and spend Summers visiting our nieghbors to the North.

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  16. Anon, thanks for the nice comment. You live a life I very much envy...God bless.

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