Posted on 08/26/2019 6:27:12 AM PDT by NOBO2012
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James
And with that in mind I need to get back to work in the pantry. I don’t want to miss another opportunity to enjoy a juicy peach dripping down my chin in the middle of the afternoon.
Enjoy it while you can. The season seems so short.
Posted from: MOTUS A.D.
Wasn’t it pleasant, O brother mine,
In those old days of the lost sunshine
Of youth— when the Saturday’s chores were through,
And the ‘Sunday’s wood’ in the kitchen too,
And we went visiting, ‘me and you,’
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s?
It all comes back so clear to-day!
Though I am as bald as you are gray—
Out by the barn-lot, and down the lane,
We patter along in the dust again,
As light as the tips of the drops of the rain,
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s!
We cross the pasture, and through the wood
Where the old gray snag of the poplar stood,
Where the hammering ‘red-heads’ hopped awry,
And the buzzard ‘raised’ in the ‘clearing’ sky
And lolled and circled, as we went by
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s.
And then in the dust of the road again;
And the teams we met, and the countrymen;
And the long highway, with sunshine spread
As thick as butter on country bread,
Our cares behind, and our hearts ahead
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s.
Why, I see her now in the open door,
Where the little gourds grew up the sides and o’er
The clapboard roof—! And her face— ah, me!
Wasn’t it good for a boy to see—
And wasn’t it good for a boy to be
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s?
The jelly— the Jam and the marmalade,
And the cherry and quince ‘preserves’’ she made!
And the sweet-sour pickles of peach and pear,
With cinnamon in ‘em, and all things rare—!
And the more we ate was the more to spare,
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s!
And the old spring-house in the cool green gloom
Of the willow-trees—, and the cooler room
Where the swinging-shelves and the crocks were kept—
Where the cream in a golden languor slept
While the waters gurgled and laughed and wept—
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s.
And O my brother, so far away,
This is to tell you she waits to-day
To welcome us—: Aunt Mary fell
Asleep this morning, whispering— ‘Tell
The boys to come!’ And all is well
Out to Old Aunt Mary’s.
James W. Riley
Thank you. That was very nice.
Here in the Houston, TX area, our summers are close to unbearable. When our first cold front comes in during fall, in which you can actually feel a cool breeze, it almost seems miraculous. I am counting the days until summer is over.
the kinks were better
Interesting is one way to phrase it.
I might say depressing. Every year summer is more precious to me and winter is more difficult to endure. Winter just hurts-it hurts to go outside, it hurts to breath in the frigid air. My husband loves winter and doesn’t care for heat and humidity in the summer.
This August has been cool enough that it feels like a part of summer has been robbed. It’s 63 degrees out right now...too cold for our very brief summer! I was looking at herbal supplements for anxiety, depression, etc this morning and all that I saw can affect blood pressure (I’m on meds) or thyroid (my Grave’s Disease is currently in remission). Heavy sigh. I think I need something to keep from being dragged down again this year.
We have almost the same emotions down here when it becomes obvious that summer is coming in, usually early in May. We then know the outdoors will be unbearable until some time in October. The only time I am outside during summer is to do yard work. It is too hot and humid to go outside for any leisure activity.
I wish I could share the feelings of the various poets and songwriters who sing the praises of summer - "summer's lease hath all too short a date", or "like a summer with a thousand Julys..." I cannot wait for autumn!
Sorry about the Graves disease. I have had 8 surgeries due to Graves Eye disease.
It won’t be getting much above 70 this afternoon here, with continuous cloud cover. Some summer day!
Get the natural light, light bulbs. It sound like you have S.A.D. Those bulbs can help. It’s not a cure but it helps.
Sorry to hear about the disease affecting your eyes. Grave’s is a crazy ride.
Part of my problem is I have nerve damage in my toes from winter training for track in college-more than just running, long story. It’s not Reynaud’s, just constant pain in my toes from mid November to April. Nothing helps and the doctor said it will just get worse every year. Sounds so stupid, but the slightest bump hurts, and really tripping or hitting it against something makes me gasp. That little thing to deal with adds to my bad attitude about winter.
Add in the fact that we plunged into a diy remodel over 2 years ago and once it got partially done and the kitchen half torn out- my husband hasn’t finished it. He’s a carpenter by trade so I suppose it’s typical, but it’s hard living in an ugly, dirty mess. Also-there is a short duct run/vent sticking up where cabinets used to be and I still stub my toe against the sharp metal edge while I’m in a hurry to get things done in the kitchen-between homeschooling, the kid’s activities and working part time I’m often almost running to finish tasks before leaving and so even though I know it’s there, I trip over it on occasion. The pain is bad for everyone (one of our kiddos sliced her toe open) but for me it’s magnified. All of it - painful toes, construction mess etc. just seems to bother me more in the winter.
Interesting the spread of feelings about summer, depending on one’s latitude.
So...Fresno, CA (Hi Jim Robinson!) is like 73 and mostly sunny every day of the year.
I’ve lived in New England most of my life and I can tell you I treasure the summertime - which is relatively brief up here - but does force you to appreciate it. From about May 15 to September 15, I can be found outdoors pretty much all the daylight hours when I’m not working. Even now, I’m out on my patio posting this. I can already feel the “chill” in the air as autumn rapidly approaches us, but I’m savoring every possible moment.
Summer to us is lot like winter to you. It's the time we stay indoors. Some people try to do things outside, but care must be taken. A friend of mine passed out this past weekend from heat exhaustion.
Today I saw clear blue skies and sunshine, I’m ready to call it a summer afternoon, even if the temperature was a high of 42. By dinner the nip in the air was returning warning of the fast approaching winter. Here summer is rated in length by minutes or hours not days.
My guess would be Barrow or Prudhoe Bay Alaska.
Yes, In between. Three hours west of dead horse, Alaska
The North Slope of Alaska is a place I’d like to visit someday. Furthest north I ever got was Juneau - by cruise ship.
Very little of the north slope is accessible to the public. I do know they they have a commercial tour system that can get permits, I don’t know what all its involved, but like everything up here I’m sure it’s not cheap.
Except for touching the water, so you have touched the arctic ocean, there isn’t too much to see. A person close spend an entire rotation up here, or even a season of rotations and not see polar bears. No other wildlife up here is exclusive. The remaining scenery is musk bogs,ponds, tundra, and drainage streams. The sights on a clear day don’t change, it’s just more of it. Don’t take me wrong it is a sight to behold, it’s just a letdown to most, it wasn’t what they had built it up to in their mind.
Years ago they used to run a charter bus from Fairbanks to prudhoe bay and back. I’m not certain if/ when they run, certainly only in the late spring early summer. The drive one way should be 12-18 hours. That might be a good thing because the trip would go through all the stretches of Alaska, and the stark difference between the grim side of the range, going through the pass and then the long long stretch from the mountain range down to the bay would be something that the duration of the drive would allow the experience to soak in.
Stepping off the airplane at dead horse and stepping into the surrounding landscape many/ most are not prepared for the contrast. Mostly it looks like a very well maintained, but old industrial park.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.