”Summer, with its daisies, runs up to every cottage door.”
We had rain last night. It started after one. Today is damp and dark, and more rain is predicted. I did have flower shopping on my to-do list, but I’ll stay inside and do around the house chores. Gee, maybe I’ll vacuum!
Today is quiet. I can hear the birds outside and Jack meowing inside. Both dogs are napping. Henry is upstairs on my bed while Nala is beside me on the couch. I can hear her deep breathing. She sleeps soundly. Henry is ever vigilant.
When I was a kid, summer lasted forever. Every day was mine to do whatever I wanted. I walked out the door in the morning and sometimes didn’t get home until late afternoon. Those were the days when I’d make my lunch, a sandwich and some Oreos, and take it with me. If I stayed close, I went home for lunch, a sandwich and some Oreos.
My brother and I would ride our bikes to Horn Pond in Woburn and fish. We always caught fish, and we always put them back. We’d walk to the zoo or to the pool if it was really hot. Both of them were on the other side of town from where I lived so they were long walks. Walking back from the pool was hot and tiring. I carried my bathing suit wrapped in my towel. I stooped and rested. The best spot for a rest was on the benches under the trees by the town hall.
I remember summer nights in my neighborhood. The screen doors were on the back doors of all the houses. You could hear TV’s and people talking. From the houses on the top of the hill behind my house kitchens lights shined through the windows. On my street, the picture windows in the living rooms sent arcs of light across the grass lawns. Sometimes I’d sit outside in the early evening on the back steps by myself. Night birds sang. I still cherish that memory.
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 30, 2024 at 2:35 pm
Hi Kat,
The high temperature today should hit the century mark with no rain insight.
Today I plan on getting into the pool. Not necessarily to cool off but because I spend a lot of money having someone else clean it and keep the chemicals balanced. 🙂
When I was kid we spent nearly everyday at the neighborhood public pool in our North Dallas area. If we had eaten lunch before going in the pool my mother would make us wait at least a half hour by the side of the pool so we wouldn’t get the cramps. Although, this was over 70 years ago, I still think my mother was misinformed. I would jump on my bicycle right after lunch and head out in the summer heat and I never got the cramps.
I remember summers when we visited our relatives in New York, who didn’t have air conditioning. We would sleep with the windows open and we could hear the neighbors noises coming from the open windows from the apartment building next door.
When we lived in Brooklyn, summer began on July fourth and ended on Labor Day. My father’s company had everyone take their two week vacation over the fourth. We would pack up the car and head to a bungalow colony in the Catskill mountains, about 90 miles north of the city. After his vacation, my father would work all week in the city and drive to the Catskills on the weekends. After Labor Day we would all return home. The bungalow was a two room cabin with a small kitchen. The colony was located by a lake and had a large central building called a casino. It was for gatherings of the guests for talent shows or other activities at night.
June 30, 2024 at 7:47 pm
Hi Bob,
It poured. We had thunder and lightening. It lasted a bit, but now it is dry. We should have a nice next few days.
Making kids wait was a universal old wives tale. My mother did the same thing when we were at the beach. It was believed that a full belly was using blood for digestion so your arm and legs would tire out from not having the blood and you could tire and drown. It, of course, has been debunked.
We didn’t even have a fan so the upstairs bedrooms got hot. Sometimes we’d sleep in the yard with blankets for sleeping bags. My neighborhood had tons of kids so the nights were quiet when they went to bed. I could only hear muted voices.
Here on the cape, years ago, we used to say the same thing: summer begins on July 4th and ends on Labor Day, but now the season is extended. Tourists start arriving in June, and the season lasts until Columbus Day. After Labor Day big tour busses are round usually with seniors on board as prices do go down at motels and such.
Many of our family vacations were what they now call staycations. My parents planned day things, and we often went to the drive-in a couple of times during my father’s vacation. I had drill team competitions all summer so I was glad if we stayed close to home.