Good ol' Days of Summer in the Country

I'm being a little nostalgic, but I love summer in the country. For some people, summer starts when school is out, or when the pool opens, or when it gets really hot. I know this is odd, but for me it starts when the first "Country Time" lemonade commercial for the summer plays. You know the one, the old man's voice narrating the bit, kids swinging into the water, catching fireflies and having picnics. Growing up, I spent my summers either at the pool at home, at our cabin in Colorado or in Louisiana with my cousins in the sticky heat of the south. I have sweet memories of waiting for the thunderstorms to pass so we could play in the puddles, of picking berries off the trees, and the afternoon treat of watermelon. I want to create summers full of warmth and sensory memories for my children. I've always loved summer, so I thought I'd share what I love about our summers in the country.

~I love eating most of our meals outside under the oaks. There's nothing better than picnics for no reason, having a good swing on the hammock after a great cookout and enjoying the sounds of summer while drinking that sweet tea!

~I love the first time the fireflies come out. I love getting a mason jar with holes punched in the top and trying to catch as many as we can.

~I love walking out to the garden, picking the tomatoes for the salad, picking a cucumber, peppers, whatever we need for dinner. It's perfect.

~I love hearing the whip-poor-wills at night. What's even better is leaving the doors open, the windows open and letting to them lull you to sleep.

~I love spending time on our porch, talking, rocking, drinking some home-made lemonade or tea and watching the kids play.

~I love going out to the garden, picking a basket full of blackberries, walking over to a peach tree, picking a few peaches, and coming in to make a cobbler.

~I love all the colors of summer. Especially right before it storms and the sky is so dark blue that the trees and grass become a whole new color of green. I love all the colors of the flowers that seem to take on a life of their own.

~I love hearing the frogs at night from the tank. They do have their own symphony!

~I love watching kids play on the tire swing. It's mesmorizing. It's tranquilizing. It's summer.

~I love cracking open a juicy, sweet watermelon and eating it on the porch, seeing who can spit the seeds the farthest.

~I love the sound of the ice-cream machine whirring. It creates such excitement of what's about to come. It can make any ordinary day exciting. Plain vanilla? Peach? Blackberry?

~I love naps in the hammock. All the animals are sleeping, trying to stay out of the heat, the only sound are the sighs of contentment and the squeak of the trees.

~I love screen doors. I love the sound of a screen door being slammed. I love kids running in and out, in and out. Leave them open, let the breeze through. It makes a small house as big as the outside.

~I love the anticipation of a vacation. I love the anticipation of a simple outing, going to the zoo, the movies, the park.

~I love the drive to our house. The trees almost meet in the middle to make a tunnel of green leaves, igniting the imagination. What's down the road? It makes you drive a little slower, windows down.

~I love having a fresh bouquet of flowers picked from my yard; roses, honeysuckle, basil, mint, rosemary.

~I love the anticipation of a thunderstorm. Seeing it in the distance, the rumble in your tummy, wondering if it will be just rain, or something a little scarier. Nothing is better than rolling thunder to introduce an afternoon nap.

~I love early evening games of baseball, catch, horse-shoes, with no shoes on.

~I love driving down the road to a hole-in-the wall mom & pop hamburger joint. Sitting on the steps, eating a burger, drinking a soda out of the bottle, listening to the big-band music floating from inside. It's hot, it's simple, it's delicious.

~I love the spur-of-the moment get-together. Everyone come out, we're ready. Just bring your lawn-chairs, some thing to throw on the grill and your swim suit.

~I love kids swimming in the horse-trough and not knowing it's small, it's not a real pool.

~I love hearing kids squeal as they chase eachother, waterguns in hand, looking for the next ambush spot.

~I love the sound of wind chimes and lawn-mowers.

~I love the endless flood of cousins that visit. It's not summer without cousins.

~I love going fossil-hunting up on our mountain. There are thousands, and they keep multiplying. It's an adventure everytime.

~I love listening to the oldies, 40's hits, Isreal, Louis, big-band, Rosemary, Percy, Willie, Van, anything that transports, anything that soothes.

~I love taking walks in the morning right before it gets too hot.

~I love fishing at the tank. Kids squealing at putting a worm on a hook, squealing when a fish strikes the bait, and the delight in reeling it in. I love the turtles that don't seem to mind the ruckus.

~I love watching our geese swim in their pool to cool off from a hot, scorched day. They are graceful, they are purposeful.

~I love the fruit stands, the summer fruit. I could eat nothing but summer fruit. It would be okay.

~I love the innocence of a child laying on his tummy, watching ants work, watching a lizard sunbathe, playing in the mud.

~I love working in the yard, pulling weeds, pruning rose bushes, watering flowers. They reward you with beauty.

Summer is more than a season. Summer is a way of life. It's romantic. It's what kids dream of...and adults.