It’s that glorious time of year. The flip flops are out of the closet. I’m shaking the sand off my towel, applying sunscreen and trying to keep ice cream from dripping down my fingers. It’s summer! It’s when I spend more time outside than inside. Every morning I stand on the deck and wait for the coffee to brew. The mornings smell of the basil in the deck boxes and the lavender by the door. I get my coffee then go back outside with my cup in one hand and the papers in the other. I sit at the round table under the red umbrella. In the afternoon, I get lost in a book  then indolently nap on the lounge with Gracie for company. Just before bed, I shower under the night sky.

It’s barbecue time. Bring out the ribs, the burgers and the chicken wings then add some sweet summer corn. Home grown tomatoes are getting bigger on the vine and before too long they’ll be red ripe. It’s the best season for cold, juicy watermelon and seed spitting contests.

The town band is practicing, and soon enough they’ll fill the white bandstand on early Sunday evenings. Kids will march around the bandstand carrying small flags, just as they do every week, and the crowd will stand and clap during The Stars and Stripes Forever.

The Cape League started this week, collegiate summer baseball at its best. The teams have Cape names like the Whitecaps, the Mariners and the Anglers. People bring picnics and sit on grassy hills or watch from bleachers where there are no bad seats. Under the lights, the outfield looks emerald green. One refreshment stands is always opened and, of course, there are hot dogs. They seem to go together, hot dogs, summer and baseball.

Happy first day of summer!

This entry was posted on June 20, 2010 at 10:28 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

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