The lazy, hazy days of Summer.....When I think of summer now I think of the wild Ox-eye Daisies* and new-born fawns that are in my gardens. . . .
*From "The Country Diary Book of Creating a Wild Flower Garden". . . .
....and thunderstorms. . . .
I made this video a few years ago and posted it during Lightning Safety Week which starts today this year. Just this past week a woman was injured by a lightning strike at a nearby state park. She and her companions had taken shelter inside a 34-foot tall stone tower which was struck by lightning, throwing her to the ground causing severe cuts to her head. I hope you will visit my Post (HERE) about lightning safety. It could save your life!
I change my decor in the house for each season. In summer it's ferns and fruits. . . .
Some years I go blueberry picking. . . .
Or host a French high school student for a few weeks as we did in July 2013. . . .
Several summers since 2010 have been kicked off by renting a house on or near the Chesapeake Bay for our family Memorial Day weekend. The first time was in Rock Hall, MD on the Eastern Shore. . . .
We also invited our son's in-laws and they treated us to a sail on the Chesapeake. The kids were on a different boat so we were able to take photos of them from our boat. . . .
Twice we've stayed at this fabulous beach house in Scotland, MD with it's own beach on the Bay. . . .
But otherwise, summer is just too hot, too humid, and too long for me anymore.
There was a time, however, I loved, loved, summer! Like when I was a kid because it meant there was no school and I could play all day with my best friend, Valerie, down the street. Or have my half-sister and half-brothers visit and we'd all go to Mamaw's and Papaw's farm. . . .
. . . .where we could run free as the wind, walk down the dirt road to the little store to buy penny candy and ice cream sandwiches, sit on the porch swing trying to catch a breeze on a hot Mississippi afternoon or listen to the rain on the tin roof. We'd play in the hayloft of the barn, or have watermelon in the back yard. . . .
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| My cousin, my half-sister, Papaw, and my little brother in the foreground |
There'd be a week of Vacation Bible School or Boy Scout camp and a family vacation--usually to visit distant family. I wanted my boys to see the place I loved so much as a child, so I made the two-day drive to Mamaw's one summer. . . .
Sometimes family would come visit us. . . .
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| Cousins at Mt. Vernon |
But soon--too soon--summertime was over and it was time to go back to school. . . .
So what about you? How do you feel about summer. What are your favorite activities?
.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•
Take Joy!
What a wonderful recollection of summers past. I too have some wonderful family memories of my children lazing in the garden with family bbq's and picnics, days out and holidays.
ReplyDeleteSummer gives us a much change of pace! They've advocate year-round school here from time to time with shorter breaks throughout the year, but then you'd lose so much. For one thing, everyone would be taking their road trip at the same time. Can you imagine the clogged roadways and no room at the Inn!
DeleteI enjoyed this so much Cathy and it made me think of some of our summer activities. I always enjoyed summer when the kids were home, or when homeschooling, we would take those months off. I agree with you if we went to year round school--awful. We had such a lovely cool spring here but summer has hit and it's in the 100s or 99 each day as far ahead as I can see … and people have gone inside. I think what we remember the most were the years we shared a little cottage on the lake with other families and the good times we had there when our boys were growing up. Enjoyed seeing your summer mantle!
ReplyDeleteSharing a little cottage on a lake sounds like wonderful summer memories! Your temperatures are worse than ours! I'm complaining about high 80's! But it's the humidity that gets me the worst. I spent my elementary years in Mississippi where it must have been hot all summer long, but I don't remember it bothering me. We did have a window air conditioner, though, in our little dining area.
DeleteCathy, I enjoyed seeing your boys as littles. Summer should be a fun relaxing time for children--a time to just be. I feel that some children these days have way too many activities that don't allow for free time. Summertime has always meant a slower pace at our home. When the children were little we spent many hours at the beach, pool, river---we are water lovers and now my children and grandchildren are. In fact my daughter just completed her first open water swim ( 2 miles) at the age of 46. She says we are from the water tribe! ♥
ReplyDeleteMy boys took swimming lessons but none of them were very comfortable in the water so we only went to the city pool a few summers and the ocean occasionally.
DeleteWhat lovely Summer memories!! And, yep...Our coastal Alabama summers are almost intolerable! While it affords us quite a long growing season and very mild winters, I'd gladly swap for 4 actual seasons. We have Summer and Almost Cold. LOL!! Your trips to your grandmother's house reminded me of the times I spent at my grandmother's family homestead in Florida. The sandy road, ice cold pump water and freedom was fabulous! Thank you for sharing your Summer Memories with us! Have a great week! ~ Donna E.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing some of your summer memories, Donna. My greatgrandparents lived a few miles down Mamaw's dirt road. They had a hand-pump well on the back porch and I remember how cold the water was, too. There was also a sugar cane field out back and they'd cut a piece for us to chew and suck on.
DeleteI loved reading your post about your summer memories. It must have been fun growing up where you did. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and we had some hot summers but no humidity. It was always fun to run through the sprinklers with my cousins. I hope you have a wonderful week. With my best wishes to you, Pat
ReplyDeleteThanks, Pat. We've been to Seattle and Vancouver Island. I love that area. The summer we went (I think it was 1996) everywhere we went the "natives" remarked how much sun they were having for a change. It only rained one day out of the week we were there. I'd love to live where there is no humidity! But the NW is too far away from my kids here on the East Coast, so I'll have to endure the summers here--thankfully we have air conditioning, but I pretty much hibernate during the summer. I think that's why I love Autumn so much--I can get back outside!
DeleteI don't love the heat and humidity of summer- I am definitely an autumn/early winter person (I don't like the extreme cold we get up here in the winter either!) But, like you with your children, I love summer because my kids have off of school. I really look forward to the last day and count down to it because I love hanging out with my kids and having no schedule other than to find ways of having fun together. Next year we will be home schooling our littlest, so this end of school year (Tuesday) has a bit of poignancy to it. But we are looking forward to my good friend Heather and her family visiting at the end of the week, so the start of summer will be extra special this year!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved being able to homeschool my children, but my oldest was a handful. He very much needed the discipline of knowing there was a Principle's Office waiting to be sent to if he misbehaved! I look forward to hearing about Heather's visit and your tour of Corgi Cottage!
DeleteWhat wonderful memories you brought back of summer. We had a cottage at a lake and spent every weekend there. I think that is how I became a country girl! I am 2 or 3 years from retirement and I can't wait. No schedule! The hot weather does get to me though. We are so fortunate, we have not hit triple digits. But it is in the mid to upper 90's with more humidity than we are used to in W. Tx. But we are so green, it' all we talk about around here! LOL
ReplyDeletemy family is coming this weekend and I started a list on the chalkboard in the garage. Favorite things about summer. It will be interesting to see what everyone adds. Top on my list, we had lightening bugs this year! I haven't seen any for years, suddenly because of the rains...there they are. They make me happy!
I hope today's children have as many fond memories of summer as we do.
Chris
Hi Chris. I meant to ask my boys yesterday when we were all together what their favorite memories were, but I totally forgot! I think I need to organize the rest of my life like I organize my Web Journal! Your idea of a chalk board is great. I hope you will come back here and list some of the things they said.
DeleteAnnabret, my 18 year old Granddaughter, left these notes on the chalkboard,
DeleteFresh peach pie
Baby barn swallows
Beaches
Suntan lotion
It says Summer to me!
Have a wonderful 4th!
Chris in West Texas
Hi, Chris. I hope you have a wonderful summer!
DeleteWhen they could finally have their own big vegetable garden, Mom started jam-making, canning and freezing in the Summer and Fall, and I got to help with that, which was fun. Strawberry jam was always first up, followed by bread-and-butter pickles, chili sauce, black raspberry jam, cherries, blueberries, red plums, dill pickles, tomatoes, peaches, yellow beans, asparagus, green beans, rhubarb, various fruit purees, corn, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts. And of course there was my birthday in the Summer, and my youngest sister's a week later - so we usually had joint birthday parties. And always a big Fourth of July picnic every year. At the Lake, there were fireworks put on each year by two of the families on our street. They'd take turns, first one family would shoot off something, then a minute later the other family. Think "Dueling Fireworks." Luckily our house was smack in the middle so we got a really view of the competition. When we moved to the country, the picnic was always at our house, because we had a lot of space - and very conveniently, a big barn in case it rained. Dad spent the whole first Summer at the new house cleaning out the barn, pouring a cement floor, adding a second floor for storage, siding and roofing it, with lots of help from my uncles. I can remember my Mom saying "The barn is being renovated before the house - LOL..." Very very pleasant Summer memories - twas fun re-living them again. Take care and talk to you soon. PS - all your boys are so good-looking. What a handsome family you have!
ReplyDeleteThis is actually the second half of Janet's comment. See next comment first. She had trouble getting Blogger to let her say everything she wanted to say!
DeleteWell, let's see. Summers now are too hot for sure [thank you, global warming] and because of that, I think they do seem longer too. But kid Summers were really different. First off, I can NEVER remember feeling hot, sweaty or cranky. I do remember how pleasant it was to have a lukewarm, soapy bath and clean jammies at bedtime however. That was always when it finally dawned on my 6-year old self "Gee, it was really hot today..." Until I was comfortable again, I was too busy having fun with my friends to even notice the weather. I wish I could STILL say that! LOL.Well, we played outside ALL the time, unless it was raining. And if it wash a very warm day and a very soft rain [no thunder, lightning], sometimes Mom still let us play outside. That was fun, and very cooling. Riding your bike with wet skin made the air cool you down quickly. There were dozens of kids on our street and we played on the beach and the breakwall, in the lake, up and down our street, over at the community playground. Sometimes we participated in the weekday activities planned by the recreation department in July & August - baseball, crafts, baton-twirling etc. There were occasional trips to the town library, which was air-conditioned and felt like Heaven on 90-degree August days. We played all the "kid" games of course. Hide-and-seek, tag, Red Rover, school, house, hospital, cops-and-robbers, cowboys-and-Indians, grocery store. We raced bikes & rikes, roller-skated, jumped rope. There were hula hoops and scooters - and Barbie-on-the-beach. Sometimes the older boys would build a soapbox-derby type vehicle out of all kinds of "Dad-leftovers" and race this up and down the street, with little kids clamoring for a ride. Those of us with little sibs played with the toddler set too - sandbox, tea party, pushing baby dolls in carriages. One of my favorite Summer activities, even now, is swinging. I love the feeling of flying through the air and once did it non-stop for 2 hours. I finally stopped at suppertime and my Mom, who could see the swing from our kitchen, told me "Wow, you sure were having fun! I didn't think you were EVER coming inside!" The ice cream truck usually toured our neighborhood after supper, and my parents couldn't really afford treats for 6 little kids more than twice a Summer or so, which made it a really big deal whenever we could get something. Now that I'm older it makes me think how hard it must have been for Mom and Dad to say "No" so often.
ReplyDeleteFinally, Janet. Right?! Your summers as a kid sound like something out of a storybook! My Dad hung a swing from a limb across the street from our house. I loved swinging under that tree. I went back in 2000 for the first time (we moved in 1960) and the tree was gone. They'd lowered and widened the highway next to it. I have fond memories of the ice cream truck, too. We also chased after the mosquito fogging truck! Can you image letting your kid do that today?
DeleteSo right! My mother was always saying that, once her grandchildren came along. The things she was able to let us do - without thinking twice about them - that parents today would NEVER consider doing. When I was 9, we had a massive snowstorm that's still on the record books here. Snowfall one weekend of 18 inches, then a week later, a COLOSSAL storm that dumped about 3-4 more feet. Anyway, my parents sent me to the little local store about a block away. Did I tell this story already? Bundled like the kid in 'A Christmas Story' I set out with our sled to fetch milk, bread & eggs. It was a huge adventure for me, like being in one of my books. I felt like the cavalry getting reinforcements through to the settlers at the fort. It was a Sunday afternoon in Feb & I don't think I saw a single car the entire time. But in later years Mom just marvelled that they let a 9-year old go alone to the store at the start of that ginormous storm. But it's one of my most vivid and cherished childhood memories. Plus - no school for a WEEK afterwards...
DeleteI think you did tell this story before--but I don't mind hearing a good snowstorm story on such a hot, sultry day as today! In tonight's Washington Post they reported that the child neglect charges were finally dropped against the parents of 10- and 6-year-old children who let them play at a nearby park unaccompanied and then a second time let them walk home from there. Some one had called the police about it. The parents believe in "free-range" childrearing. I personally couldn't do it! But what is really different now from the 1950's when we did it? I remember taking the Trailways bus into Chicago from Valparaiso, Indiana with my girlfriend on Christmas Eve for the day. We were in 11th grade. We had great fun. I can't believe my mother let me do that, but I'm glad she did!
DeleteIt was lovely to see all your photo's of Summer's gone by & to see you children as children.
ReplyDeleteSummer has disappeared here in England this last week, rain & cloud is everywhere not good for hanging the washing.
I love Summer because we get to spend s much time with the children, no rushing to get the bus for the older one's, not packed lunches. Just special time together which is what I like, I do not like the strong sun but prefer it in the shade.
Fondly Michelle
I do not like it when the sun disappears for too long either--too gloomy! But a rainy day once a week would be lovely for our gardens here. Instead we have sudden thunderstorms with downpours! Then hot, hot, hot for days on end. I have to water my potted plants which means I have to be outside in the humidity! It used to be this was only July and August, but now it starts in May. I hope your warmer weather returns soon. Too much of anything is monotonous. :-)
DeleteThe heat of summer was a joy as kids; endless days spent in nothing but a bathing suit, running through the sprinkler, climbing trees, no school:freedom! But now, that heat, that SUN, whew! I happily get on with my garden work in April -June, then I retire to the house for the rest of the summer, unless we are traveling. I still enjoy the beauty of summers bounty, the lush greens, the constantly changing hues in the garden, the FIREFLIES! There is nothing quite like it to me, but by the end of August I am so ready for Autumn. Your Mamaw and Paps house looks so much like the Sharecroppers cabins I have seen in Georgia, so quaint and old-time. I enjoyed reading about the oxeye daisy as it is so abundant in my gardens and fields, a true friend and faithful prolific grower.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your memories, Jeri. The fireflies were a big thing in the summer for me, too. We'd catch them in a jar for the evening to see if we could have a "lantern." Mamaw's house was built by Papaw from southern pine and never had any paint put on it. It had a long center hall ending at the dining room, with 4 bedrooms, and a living room off the hallway. The kitchen was off the dining room to the side. They had an outhouse and no hot water until I was 9. The only heat was from room gas heaters. We slept on feather beds under handmade quilts when it was cold.
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