Saturday, June 21, 2014

SUMMER DAYS

 

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?


~ Mary Oliver [Summer Day]



What summer means to me....

: unscheduled days

: the air conditioner constantly running

: temperatures that come with a heat advisory

: humidity, humidity, humidity

: afternoon thunderstorms

: lightening bugs

: checking the Weather Channel every morning
   for hurricanes

: the sound of cicadas at dusk

: wearing tank tops and shorts
  or a sun dress if I go to town

: picking blueberries

: pretty painted toe nails

: checking the fig tree daily so I can beat the
  birds when the figs are ripe

: naps in hammock under the pecan tree

: homeschool book lists

: picking dinner from the garden

: sun tea

: canning food

: popsicles

: weekly [daily] beach trips

: staying up too late reading

: new flip flops

: dragon flies on the back steps

: movies at the drive - in

: hanging clothes on the clothes line

: snacking on watermelon all day long

: bike rides early, early in the morning

: snakes in my yard [ six so far ]

: the smell of fresh cut grass

: weeding the garden

: flat ironing my hair [see humidity]

: playing horse shoes

: my youngest son's birthday [17 this year]

: spur of the moment road trips

: more time to knit

: anklets and toe rings

: sunscreen

: aloe when I don't use enough sunscreen

: trying on bathing suits [sigh]

: wild flowers in vases


What does summer mean to you?



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11 comments:

  1. Image perfection- love the depth, lovely.
    I think I want to spend my summers with you. That is such a nice list- the good and the bad- like hurricane watch but also picking blueberries. WE jumped in the ice cold lake 3 weekend ago in Glacier- it is SO cold- but summer is just around the corner.
    Flathead Cherries
    Huckleberry picking
    Swimming.....
    Ice cream :)

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  2. What a great list Tracey, some of my favourite things about summer are in there. I also enjoy meals eaten outside, morning sunrises and flowers picked by little hands.

    Happy Summer Solstice!

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  3. Great list!! I'll have to think about mine a bit. Maybe I'll get Mikaela to help me out too. Lots of similar things to yours, minus the beach! I prefer the mountains myself ;o)

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  4. What a wonderful list you have. Me? No big obligations!

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  5. Mary Oliver's beautiful poem seems to be everywhere today....so perfect! Summer for me is coming back to a tiny village in France. I have spent my summers here for over 20 years & can't imagine any other.

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  6. Summer is definitely about wild flowers and fresh food, and fair weather here. But I'm so glad we don't get the heat advisories, the humidity, and the hurricanes!

    Thank you for popping in to knitsofacto :)

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  7. Love it Tracey - I could feel the summer weather even though it is only in the low 70's right now. Love that picture - great colors! Summer means dreaming about vacation - 4 weeks to go!

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  8. Lovely summer list, Tracey. Despite some of the bad, like humidity or in my case wicked dryness, there are so many wonderful things as well. Thank you for reminding me.
    Mostly summer means new and exciting veggies being available, easy wear clothing, and fuss-free hair styles like ponytails.

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  9. ditto to all the above...except the bathing suit thing. EGAD!!!!! (and the snakes!) My fig has 4 itty bitty figs on it....how can you tell when they are ripe??? these are my first figs!

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  10. great list Tracey! Watermelon, sweaty glasses filled with ice and water, flowers in the garden, cicadas, and wishing for fall...

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  11. delightful, tracy!
    ditto to so much… xo

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