A SALUTE TO JULY!

“I drifted into a summer nap under the hot shade of July, 

serenaded by a cicada lullaby,

to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder.”  

—Terri Guillemets* 

I think I might be the only person who sadly hates to see the end of June. For me, it means we’ve moved one-third closer to the end of summer as we enter the Dog Days of Summer and July.

I’ve always thought of summer as June, July, and August. Oddly, I have never considered September as a month belonging to the season, yet a portion of it is. I think it’s a throwback from youth when we started school the end of August. Summer was a time when we were free from long bus rides, lugging books from school to home and back, doing homework, and abiding by a strict daily routine. Summer was truly a time to smell the roses in bloom and eat handfuls of sun-warmed berries growing wild along the roads or in farm pastures.

July is the month of movement. We have the Fourth of July to celebrate, complete with outdoor get-togethers, music, and sparkling fireworks. In the U.S., the month is packed with fairs, festivals, carnivals, and arts and crafts shows. There are celebrations for almost every day of the month, including special days for hotdogs, raspberries, and cheesecake. July 23^rd is National Day of the Cowboy while July  27th is Take Your Houseplants for a Walk Day.         

While July’s average temperatures make it the hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, it is also the coldest month on average in the Southern Hemisphere. In the northern states like Pennsylvania, July is a time for vacationing and trips to our nation’s beaches, rivers, and parks to engage in activities like swimming, boating, water skiing, hiking, geo-caching, and more.

July is a unique month with its ruby gemstone, symbolizing love, passion and courage. The larkspur and water lily are the state flowers. The full moon in July this year occur on the 10^th and is called the “Buck Moon” because the antlers of male deer (bucks) are in full-growth mode at this time. July is often considered the middle of summer where there is nothing like its sunny days to remind you of how wonderful life can be.                                       

*(NOTE: Terri Guillemets is the pen name
of Terri A. Woodhull,a quotation anthologist
born in 1973 in Phoenix, Arizona.)

 

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JUNE - Is Busting Out All Over!

"It was June, and the world smelled of roses.

 The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside."

– Maud Hart Lovelace 

American Children’s Book Author (1822-1980)

There is something special in the air and over the lands in Pennsylvania when June waltzes in with her bouquet of vibrant flowers and lush grasses that cover the lawns and fields. The entire world seems to come alive. Trees and bushes wearing their timid light green foliage change into their summer clothes of a deep green. Despite the constant rains of May, the sun peeks out. Overhead the sky is colored a soft cozy blue with fluffy white clouds floating around.

Our backyard has become a haven for our feathered friends who have arrived early. We have chickadees in a birdhouse under our patio, finch nests in our hanging ferns, bluebirds in a box on one of our fences, robins under our deck, and sparrows in a second birdhouse nearby. And let’s not forget the doves. They have taken a spot in a tree in the neighbor’s yard and are cooing back and forth to each other as early as five o’clock every morning. The chirps, cheeps, whistles, and warbles of our feathered fellows merge to make up a summer chorus filled with melodies. 

I have to admit, the smell of drying clover and other field grasses is one of summer’s most pleasant scents, along with June roses in full bloom. And who can ignore the light fragrances of lavender or sun-kissed red raspberries when they drift out into the breeze?

 

Growing up in the country, this was the time of the year when we farm kids all uttered a deep sigh as soon as we heard the sound of the tractor and its mower heading out to the nearest hay field. The odors of gasoline, motor oil, and baler twine became a common smell. Soon, we knew we’d be tossing hay bales onto wagons and into hay lofts.

June is my favorite month. It’s clean, new, and the start of summer and warmer weather. It’s vibrant vegetation. Sizzling sunshine. And, by the way, it’s my birthday! 

 

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MAY DRESSED IN HER FINERY

It’s May, the queen of all the months, who assumes her reign amid colorful blossoms and shades of green. Above, in the blue sky, the merry warm sun dips down to awaken the daffodils, violets, bursting buds, and earthy grasses. Spring rains softly blanket the deciduous trees unfolding their delicate leaves while above in the branches, birds chatter, scold, and sing.

I always think of May as the beginning of summer, despite the real date of June 20^th. It’s the time when we shed our coats and head outside. Around us, the soft breeze carries the fresh scent of blooming flowers and wet earth. At nightfall in the northern regions, we always get the joyous sound of spring peepers calling out from the wetlands.

Every year, my husband and I tell each other that we’re going to cut back on the flowers we are going to buy, hang, display, or plant.  It’s a pointless threat. The other day, we went on our yearly search of four ferns to hang on the patio, along with other potted plants and flowers to make the area more colorful and cozier. We arrived home with more than enough sunlight to glance at the vacant beds we also plant with annual flowers and chuckled. We know we’ll be scouring the greenhouses for more vegetation.   

May is also the time we take the time to visit the Memorial Day services at Historic Crown Crest Cemetery in Central Pennsylvania where the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) take turns each year having a ceremony in honor and memory of all those who served and are no longer with us. I am part of a four-generation military family with my husband and son having served, and my husband’s late grandfather and late father also having served. It’s a chilling and heartbreaking sensation to stand in the cemetery and see the rows and rows of American flags flying from the graves of those who have served at one time in their lives. 

As we move through the month of May, named after the Greek Goddess Maia who symbolizes nature and growing plants, let’s bask in her finery, the warmth of the weather, and the rejuvenation of the living world around us.  

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