Summer

ByLynn Austin
19 Comments

ÒIt’s August already. I can’t believe how quickly this summer has flown past! I’ve only begun to enjoy all of my favorite things about this season—and I do love summer. In fact, I love all four seasons. With only two exceptions, I’ve lived most of my life in places where the four seasons were evenly spaced with three full months to enjoy each one—the cool, daffodil days of spring; the hot, sit-on-the-beach days of summer; the crisp, multicolored-leaves days of fall; and the frigid, snow-filled days of winter.

One of those exceptions was the two years my husband and I spent living in Bogota, Colombia back in the mid-1970s. You would think those would have been hot, steamy days living s22050_517977682604_2034486_no close to the Equator. Not so! The city of Bogota perches on a plateau in the Andes Mountains nearly 9,000 feet high. The weather is spring-like year-round, averaging only in the 50s and 60s. A jacket is a daily necessity. So is an umbrella. It rained every single day the entire time we lived there. If we longed for sunshine and warmth, we had to take a bus down a precarious mountain road to the “hot country.” There were trade-offs to being warm; the sunny “hot country” came with lizards and Palmetto bugs on the walls, and snakes as big around as my arm, and spiders the size of saucers. I learned to get used to the rain.

IMG_4125The other exception was the eleven years that our family lived in Canada—first in Thunder Bay, Ontario, then in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I still experienced all four seasons while living there, but they weren’t evenly-divided into three months apiece. We waited forever for spring, and once had a blizzard with three feet of snow on my husband’s birthday, April 15. I brought my daughter home from the hospital after her birth in May, wrapped in layers of blankets and sweaters. Summer was hot and very brief. We learned to harvest our tomatoes by the end of August or risk frost on the first of September. Fall passed swiftly, too. When we finally returned to the U.S., our Canadian-born kids complained that “It just doesn’t feel like Halloween without snow.” Of course, the longest season of all was winter, with typical thermometer readings of 40 below zero. The temperature often stayed below zero for an entire month.

ÒI think that whichever climate we grow up with seems “normal” to us for the rest of our lives. I live in Michigan now, which has a climate very similar to that of the Hudson Valley in New York State where I grew up. Both are orchard-growing regions where the countryside transforms into a ruffle-blossomed paradise in springtime. Is there anything better than a crisp apple picked right off the tree when the fall days begin to cool? Christmas is nearly always a white one. And glorious summer thunderstorms often rumble through in the evenings after a hot, humid summer day.

God promised Noah after the flood that “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Genesis 8:22). I’m so glad He kept that promise!

But right now it’s still summer. And here are some of the things I love most about this season:

Plump, juicy blueberries.photo

Reading thick novels on my front porch swing.

Feeling sand between my toes.

Watermelon and corn on the cob.

Picnics with my family.

Sleeveless blouses and cotton shorts.

Colorful flip flops.

Riding my bicycle to the beach.

Ice cream cones.

Now it’s your turn. What are your favorite things about summer?

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Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time. Lynn was recently inducted into the Christy Award Hall for Fame for winning eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

19 Comments

  1. Favourite thing about summer? Tomatoes right off the vine! Fresh strawberries. Being able to go for a walk without putting on layers and mega snow boots! The fact that if I miss a bus I can just blissfully read a book until the next one (hard to turn pages with mittens on!) And I love, love, love puttering around in my garden. Even weed pulling is a joy this year!

    And your kids’ comment about it not feeling like Halloween without snow? So very Canadian. Though one year i made my daughter and all her friends Winnie the Pooh character costumes — out of plush material and large enough to fit over snowsuits, of course. That year the temp on Halloween soared to the mid thirties..(low 90s fahreneit) and those poor kids were sweltering. The costumes didn’t last a block of trick or treating!

    1. You’re right, Kav! I forgot about tomatoes right off the vine. Heavenly! Your story about the Halloween costumes is too funny! Thanks for sharing it, and making me smile.

  2. As an attorney, I work year round. However, when summer comes, it almost seems like life slows down and you can enjoy things more. We generally take a long vacation, but this year, we have been taking long weekends periodically throughout the summer.

    Like you, I enjoy the “somewhat” evenly spaced seasons. I was beginning to think that winter would never let go and then like always, spring arrived and so did summer. This has been a relatively mild summer with cooler temperatures, which I have not really liked, I love the bright warm, sunny days. Although, it has been beautiful weather to be outside for extended periods of time. I miss the “dog days,”

    1. Today is the first really HOT day we’ve had all summer. It’s a great day for the beach. I like your idea of taking long weekends throughout the summer. That way you can explore different places. Hope you get one or two “dog days” to enjoy.

  3. Loved reading about the places you’ve called home, Lynn! As for summer, I’m with Kav–I love tomatoes off the vine and recall sitting on my aunt’s back porch with a bucket of fresh-from-the garden tomatoes on one side and a bucket of water on the other. We’d rinse off the dirt and chomp away. Of course, one of us usually had a salt shaker close at hand, too. Fond memories. ~Judy

  4. Yum! Sounds wonderful Judy! We haven’t had enough hot, sunny days for our tomatoes to ripen. I have to settle for tomatoes from the Farmer’s Market.

  5. LOL Lynn! I’m taking the liberty of “basking” in your sunny post! Just reading it makes me feel warmer already !:). It has been so cold here and last night was the coldest night for 120 years. Our temp was 0.9 Celsius, which may not sound cold to you but believe me, we FREEZE!…I’m sure Becky will agree with me on that score)

    We’ve had rain, hail, sleet and snow ever since we returned from the UK ( we decided that we had all 4 seasons while we were over there) but our dams are full and most of our countryside is a beautiful lush green. I’m convinced Mother Nature has Autumn and Spring confused… Some of our wattle has been flowering since February(which is Summer ) but now it is flowering in full force (should be Autumn) and our Spring blossoms are appearing early.
    We will enjoy it’s beauty while we can because already, we have been warned that we will be in for a very long, hot, dry summer, our countryside will turn brown and the dams will dry all too quickly. We are fortunate that we have wonderful facilities as far as indoor swimming centres and the ice arena is a great favourite with the youngsters as you can well imagine. Anything to keep cool.. LOL
    Our beaches will be crowded regardless of high temperatures and hopefully a lot of SUNSCREEN applied!! Have you ever eaten a sand and sunscreen sandwich ? Oh the joy of lunch at the beach!:)

    I’m looking forward to sitting out in our courtyard in the evenings(hopefully with a cool breeze) The wishing well adorned with coloured fairy lights, our flowering pots around the hot tub which will very quickly become a cold tub, the Barbie fired up and an enjoyable, relaxing evening with our friends.:)

    As for the vine tomatoes and strawberries ? Oh yes…delicious!!

    I enjoyed reading your post very much Lynn. How about coming and experiencing our Summer with us ? 🙂

    @ Kav! You’ve got it all together my friend! We experienced some of your Canadian Summer a few years ago. LOL

    1. Rosie, I really enjoyed hearing about your up-side-down seasons. We rarely think about the differences and just take our seasons for granted. I would LOVE to visit your beautiful country. It’s on my bucket list.

  9. Oh dear! What happened to Blogger! I didn’t think it was working so kept persisting. Judy, consider yourself well and truly invited. LOL

  11. I enjoyed reading about the various places you’ve lived, Lynn! Sounds adventurous to this Georgia girl—born in Atlanta and have never lived anywhere else. 🙂
    Summer for me means a family vacation, watermelon, blueberries, and reading lots of books!
    And I was just thinking this morning that the Lord has our seasons timed perfectly, because here in Georgia just about the time we’re all really tired of the heat and humidity, Autumn arrives—with the refreshing cool air and gorgeous leaves. 🙂
    Quick question: Is the beach photo you shared of Lake Michigan? I’ve never visited any of the Great Lakes, and that’s on my wish list. 😉
    Hugs, Patti Jo

    1. Hi Patti Jo. Yes, the picture is of our beach on Lake Michigan. The new house I just moved to has access to this private beach–and I’ve been walking there nearly every day, rain or shine! There is such a wonderful breeze this close to the lake that we haven’t needed our air-conditioner all summer. All of Michigan’s beaches are gorgeous. I hope you get your wish, someday.

  12. Lynn , I really hope you do visit Aus. As I have so often said to all you authors on the blog, we would love to be your hosts and so proud to show you our beautiful country. You are welcome anytime.:)

  13. Favorite things about summer:
    • sitting on the deck in the evening waiting for the cicadas to start serenading
    • long, long days
    • sleeping with the windows open and hearing distant train whistles
    • coffee coolers and fruit smoothies
    • the first tomatoes of summer
    • watering the flowerpots in the evenings and admiring how each one has grown
    • going for ice cream on the spur of the moment

  14. My favorite things about summers past and now.

    My family would gather on the front porch to watch the lightning shows and have “porch therapy”.

    When we were kids, the real first day of Summer is when we got our bikes out of the shed and rode all day. Our butts would be sore until we got use to those hard bike seats again.

    In August we keep the family tradition of making elderberry jelly. This involves driving all over the county to harvest from wild bushes whos locations are kept secret in our heads. My dad’s grandpa use to take my him elderberry picking and we’ve done it for as long as I can remember. For years we would always win first prize at the fair because no one else even entered another elderberry jelly. It has since become more popular and is still my favorite.

    I take a yearly vacation to the beach in May. The 15 hour drive starts at 50 degrees and ends in the 80’s.

    Thanks for letting me share!
    Love your books Lynn!

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