The First Day of Summer Revisited

The First Day of Summer Revisited

Today is the first day of summer. What does summertime mean? We all know the scientific stuff—the equinox, the sun is at its highest point, the planets, etc. We all know that. But, what it really means is that the tomatoes are beginning to ripen. The squash is coming in by the handful. The bush beans are ready for picking.

The bees are stuffing their sacs from the butterfly bushes, working the ice plant for the pollen hidden in the pink petals, and fighting the Japanese beetles for the nectar of the mimosa blossoms.

The hemerocallis is doing her duty producing her daily lily flowers--pale lemon, bright yellow, orange, and russet.

The mourning doves aren't mourning but delighting in stealing free fallen sunflower seeds.

After today, the days will become shorter so let's not waste a moment of our sweet summertime.

Summer swaggers in
all hot and sweaty.
Slaps a thunderous hand
saying, "Let the fun begin."

©Wittmann

I can't believe that it has been a whole year since I wrote this. Has anything changed? The squash and the beans are still coming in like gangbusters, but we got a food saver vacuum thingy and at least it makes it fun to put the squash by, as they say here in the South.

Thank goodness we still have the bees doing their pollination. I hear that bees have a blight, and that will surely cause us humans plight.

Yep, found the first Japanese beetle on the first day of summer. They are doing their destructive best as usual and we are doing our best to pick them off by hand, the old-fashioned organic way--no poisons.

The lilies are painting all the gardens with their orange and yellow splashes just like Jackson Pollack.

The doves are still here along with an amazing array of other songbirds. Little Miss Wren is determined to build herself a nest on the front porch, but for some reason, she gets miffed when I porch-sit and sip lemoned-sweetened tea, and she dashes off singing her protests for the rest of the day.

And, nature is still nature--and the days will be getting shorter--and I shall not waste a moment of our sweet summertime.