It’s hard to not love summer. When your a kid, its all about long days outside, pool parties and NO SCHOOL! There were family trips to go get ice cream cones, and evenings of fireworks and cookouts.
Now, I do know a lot of people who really don’t care for the humidity that comes along with a southern summer, and I can agree with that. But, there’s so much more that offsets the days of sweat and frizzy hair!
1.Longer days
I absolutely LOVE when it is light out until 9:00 or later. The winter time bums me out when it gets dark at 5:00. I literally count down the days until spring, knowing that the longer sunkissed days and brighter evenings are on their way!
2. Cicadas and Tree Frongs
Yup, those sounds that can only be found in the warm evenings are music to my ears! It’s June right now, and there are some tree frogs, but the Cicadas and the Katydids haven’t emerged yet. When they do, that means its full on SUMMER! I will even play a nature app in the winter time, just to hear those sweet sounds and make me dream of the warmer months ahead.
3. Cook outs
I mean, you have to love a cook out, right? The smell of charcoal, or the red meat on the grill is shear heaven. Cold beverages served in red solo cups, or ice cold beer in your favorite coozie is the stuff that really makes you relaxed. Our family always had epic Fourth of July parties. They went late into the night and involved tons of food, barrels filled with assorted sodas, (and I’m sure adult beverages), ice cream, watermelon, swimming in the pool and a ton of other games!
4. Fireworks
Yes sir! I love them. There is utter magic in those little cardboard tubes. I mean really, how do the get things like hearts or stars to show up out of the middle of a cascade of color? Amazing! I always am partial to the ones that start off one color, and then shimmer and crackle at the end as the fade out. I can hear that sound now…..
And then there’s the loud BOOM!!!! I think those are just to keep you awake. Hahaha! I like them too because you can feel it in your body.
5. Tomatoes
ok, well this one is a bit of a lie. I don’t actually like eating tomatoes. But I really do love growing them! Going to check the garden and tend to the plants is so satisfying. And when you have a harvest that’s bountiful enough that you can share it, well that’s special too. I am so tickled that I have my first baby tomatoes of the season, that I went out and bought some tomatoes on the vine, just so I could make tomato pie. Its a southern staple, and even though I don’t really care for tomatoes, I am craving this summertime treat! I’ll make sure to take some pics of the finished pie!
6. Butterflies and Bees
I try and keep y yard chemical free to help protect my little fluttery friends. Seeing butterflies is just so joyous. The just happily flit and fly around, almost bouncing through the air on their delicate wings. I always say that butterflies are visitors from heaven. We had one come sit on us one day for about 15 minutes. He just went from person to person and even hung out on our beverages. It was special!
The bees are special too. I have a couple bee houses in the yard so they can lay their eggs, and I try and give them enough flowers so they can do their jobs.
7. Ice Cream and the ice cream man
or woman, I suppose! I will admit that I’m not a very big sweets eater. But when someone says, “lets go out for ice cream!” I’m in! Growing up, we had a local place that served the BIGGEST scoops of ice cream. They were something to be reckoned with. It was often a challenge to eat that cone before you were a drippy mess. I would hate when my father wanted to clean up my cone for me! Then again, he probably didn’t want me in the car with sticky ice cream fingers.
One of the best jobs I ever had was at one of those old school walk up to the window ice cream places. It’s still there, and boy do I miss it! All the sprinkles you could eat! BEST. JOB. EVER!
And then there’s that sound of the ice cream truck! I always felt like I was going to miss it! We would hear the song, and then start screaming for mom to give up money! I usually got a frozen bomb pop. I loved the way it would make my tongue blue…
8. Pool Days
We were very lucky and had an in ground pool in our back yard. Most days when we got up in the morning, we just put a bathing suit on and that’s what we wore all day. We had dark tans and didn’t care. We played games in the pool and made forts out of the lounge chairs. When my father would get home from work, we’d go swimming after dinner. He’d always pick us up and throw us around. Whether we liked it or not. He taught us to dive, and my special dive was a back dive.
It was always fun to be invited to someone else’s pool, but there’s nothing like having your own!
9. Corn on the cob
Summer essential! I think we make corn on the cob every single time we cook out! There’s nothing better than sweet, fresh corn. Well, maybe if you add some blue cheese butter, that does step it up a tad. I know it sounds odd, but don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. My family has always boiled their corn. And usually it was served after the main part of dinner. I cook entirely outside on the grill during the summer, so I just grill mine. i like the little charred kernels. I know you can get corn on the cob year round, but the local summer corn is always the best!
10. The smell of fresh cut grass
Now if that doesn’t make you happy, then nothing will! HAHAHA! It soothes my soul. Just taking a few deep breaths of that smell instantly puts me in a better mood. I don’t even mind mowing the grass, I like the smell so much. My yard isn’t really a lot of grass, however, its mostly green weeds, but I’m working on it. I would love to have a big lush lawn. Maybe next year
Gosh, I could go on and on. There’s also Fireflies, thunder storms, sun tans and so much more!
Take the time to enjoy the beauty of each season.
Happy Summer time!
