Why I love summer ~ My Column from the Newspaper

I love summer flowers too

I love summer and all it implies, but summer’s been shy this year. Each time I thought my old friend sol would make his debut, rain came.

I read that we’ve already gotten a year’s worth of rain in the first five months. At one point when I guessed that the time was right, I went to the farmer’s co-op and spent a pirate’s pension on grass seed and fertilizer. 

I worked for hours preparing my back yard for a much-needed facelift and then sowed the seeds. That night we got four inches of rain. Now our garden, which is just on the other side of the back yard fence, looks like a putting green at Augusta the week of the Masters Golf Tournament.

I reseeded it again and now all the young grass is coming up where it’s supposed to.

Working in the yard can sometimes be frustrating, but it’s one of the things I love most about summer. 

But sitting here on the back porch tapping away on my laptop, I got to thinking about all the other things I love about summer. I think my favorite destination this time of year is the beach. So what follows is a list of the top-five reasons I love the beach.

The sights – A liquid emerald ocean that’s as warm as bathwater, is a visual feast. I know I’ll catch some flack about this, but I’d have to include the sight of women walking around in bathing suits that have less fabric than it would take to make a small hat.

The sounds - There is something about the constant rumbling of the surf massaging the beach, and the sound of seabirds fussing at each other over a crab or sea snail from a conch shell.

Beach treasure - I’ve found incredible things walking down the beach. I’ve found a copy of Jonathan Livingston Seagull that looked as thought it had never been read. I once found a puka-shell necklace. I also found a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that looked as if the owners had left in a hurry.

Sandcastles - I’ve never been very good at sculpting sand, but being good is not a prerequisite for building sand art. One morning just after daybreak, Jilda and I were walking on the beach and found what appeared to be the face of an angel on the beach staring up at the stars. The tide was coming in, and we stood there for a long while watching the waves gently erase the face. We walked away in silence for a long time before Jilda said, “That must have been the face of someone who was truly loved.” I had to agree.

The smells - I know this is a holdover from my teenage years, but I can’t smell Coppertone Suntan Lotion and not think of the beach. In those day no one had ever heard of the sun causing skin cancer. In fact, most people would have scoffed at the idea. 

The smell of freshly cooked seafood is like a promise, of something good to come. One of my all-time favorite meals is fresh gulf shrimp, fried, baked, broiled, battered, buttered, or spanked (I just made that up.) But I do love my fresh seafood. And I love the beach in summer. 

What do you love about summer?