forget about the flowers

That's right: forget about summer blooms. No! Not forever. Just for a few minutes. Is there something else that exquisitely belongs to summer, something that makes you feel so good it hurts? Indeed, if someone were to ask you to list things you absolutely love about this season, would that list be long? 

It struck me this morning that my list would be very lengthy indeed. And here's the weird thing: though I've long said that I love spring best, my list of beloveds for summer would be longer than for any other season. Flowers, yes, of course -- all those lilies in the company of so many blossoms. But they don't stand alone. I love that summer gives us endless breakfasts on the porch. I love summer fruits: peaches, cherries, blueberries.  I love feeling the warmth of the sun on me. I love watching fireflies at night. I love long days with plenty of daylight hours. I love that at least kids and sometimes adults are on vacation. I love wearing shorts and summer dresses. I love cool showers after sweating outside in the garden. I love biking over to Stoneman's with Ed to get some of their just-picked corn.

I can go on of course, but I'll stop there, because even these few bits of summer magic filled my day today. In other words, summer can pack in a heck of a lot of good stuff into a short space of time. What's there not to love? I know, I know -- the bugs. The humidity. The frustration of losing a crop of whatever you planted to bad weather or pests or predators. (SPeaking of predators, today we found a dead possum in the shed/garage. Oh, the smell!) I don't have to tell you that life is full of disappointments and irritations, year-round. But isn't it just a little easier to feel good anyway during a season that offers so many opportunities to be happy?

I do start the day with flower work. Even the animals had to wait! And it was still a big haul  -- 764 snipped lilies.That's over 200 more than yesterday -- who knows why. But there is sunshine outside and I find that working in the non-shady spots keeps the bugs down. Mosquitoes prefer shade. In any case, I feel at peace with my snipping work. It will end soon enough and in the meantime, my flowers look the better for it.

(one with, two without)

(again one with, two with out, plus the bonus of a gladiolus murielae, a.k.a. an Abyssinian gladiolus, or a peacock orchid)

(This year, just for the heck of it, I planted a bunch of standard gladiolus bulbs. I wont do that again. As they come up, their thin stalks are barely visible and I have trampled over more sprouting glads than I care to recall. But, to commemorate my summer of glads, let me include this photo of a trampling survivor: Gladiolus Princess Margaret Rose.)

(Sunshine is great for the soul and good for mosquito control, but not so good for flower photography!)

(well, there are exceptions!)

(taking in the Big Bed from the back)

We eat breakfast on the porch, but I know that's as a favor to me. It's starting to feel awfully warm out there.

And because we know that it will really heat up today, we do our one outing early -- right after breakfast. Despite his now full blown cold, Ed wants to do it with me: bike over to Stoneman's for the first corn of the season.

If you did a taste test, perhaps you'd say that other corns would be in close competition with the deliciousness of Stoneman's. We've had Eugster's and Alsum's and Natalie's this year and they were all good. But Stoneman's is special. Perhaps some of the warm feelings I have toward their corn come from the fact that the Stonemans are such a nice family. They work on selling corn from their farm together -- all three generations, with many kids and grandkids helping out. It's always a pleasure to go there and to watch them unload, check and sell the cobs. 

 

 (It's a family project...)

 

You know, too, that they just picked the corn a few hours ago and that you can have that unique experience of eating corn that is fresh off the stalk.

Because their farm is so close to us (2.5 miles away), we nearly always bike to it and that, too, is just plain fun.  

Places like Facebook have helped them: they post occasional photos of the grandkids picking and sampling corn and so you feel connected to the farmers as well as their product. The comments there are full of praise and admiration. It's just one lovely summer moment: to pick up and eat that awesome corn!

And we have reason to pick up a dozen ears today -- the young family is here for dinner. 

(coming down the secret path...) 

It's not really porch weather in the evening. We eat in the coolness of the kitchen. (Without Ed though: he doesn't want to share his cold with the others.)

And still, it feels like a summer dinner. It's a bright day, a bright evening, and of course, there is the corn. And peaches and ice cream. What a stunning day!

with so much love...