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 dear (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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