Summertime

Gershwin included a lovely lullaby in Porgy and Bess that began with the lines, "Summertime and the living is easy. Fish are jumping and the cotton is high." I first learned the song as a teenager at 4-H Short course on the campus of Florida State University. The song catches the easiness of summer, the feel of the warm air, the smells of the honeysuckle, and that feeling that the most difficult thing one wants to do is sit quite still in a porch swing and wait for the wind to blow.

I, unabashedly, love summer. I love the smell of it, the feel of it, and the colors of it. The things which others find the most distressing are trivial in my estimation. The good far outweighs the bad. So, the humidity is so high and my clothes stick to me. At least this is the summer when we can get away with wearing fewer clothes. I grew up before air conditioning. I can remember the joy of walking into Hamilton County Bank and feeling the cool air. It was a treat to go to town with my mother as she did her Friday shopping just to go into the bank! Now, I can get that same joy coming into my house after summer morning chores.

Another advantage to the days being hot and sticky is that there is no guilt to heading indoors shortly after noon for an extended rest time. After all, it would not be healthy to labor through the "heat" of the day.

No other season gives us the lushness of color that summer does. We have the great globs of blossoms varying from deepest red to precious pink, lavender to deep purple, and pristine white on the Crepe Myrtles. How appropriately the Japanese have named these summer beauties as "the flower of a hundred days." If cool is desired, there are the cool blues of the hydrangeas. The summer annuals just gloat on color: zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers!

The smells are best during the summer. Each week we have the new mown grass smell. Moon flowers give out their perfume at sunset. Four O'clocks send out their light scent in late afternoon. No wonder butterflies abound around here during the summer!

Even the foods are better during the summer. We tend to have more fresh things to use in salads. What can equal the flavor or a true garden ripe tomato? or blueberries right off the bush? or a fig ripe on the tree? or a peach? Barbecue is done more. And, we need to remember that homemade ice cream is a summer thing. Of course no one is going to complain if we take a little of this summer into all four seasons.

Summer is also "water" season. Floating around a cool pool gazing up at a true summer blue sky with a few fluffy clouds is one of the great joys of life. A day at the beach making sandcastles is a memory maker, especially if done with a good companion. Summer is the time to turn the hose on your head on a really hot day or time to run through the sprinkler. Who would think of doing this during the other more mundane seasons?

The sounds of summer are with us from early to late. The serenade of the birds bring in the day. The sounds of frogs and crickets follow the setting sun.

So, I say, forget the heat and humidity, summer is wonderful. I plan to enjoy every glorious day of it.