As the shadows grow longer, we prepare to say goodbye to another summer. I’m already mourning the things I’ll miss. Okay, maybe mourn is too solemn a word since fall really is my favorite. But summer brings moments and flavors and aromas that only come during the hottest time of year. And those, I will miss with the ache of a lost object.
Like WATERMELON.
A wedge satiates me like no other fruit, takes me back to birthdays spent at the lake, summers in the back yard at the home place. Each thump of a plump melon comes with the possibility that yes, this one will be the best ever, vine-ripened in some picturesque Arkansas field of dreams, loaded into the back of an old pick-up, driven to a farmer’s market on the edge of the town square before making it’s way into my belly.
This year’s watermelons tasted as sweet as they should.
And TOMATOES.
Those washed-out, baseball-firm tomatoes trucked up from Mexico during November and arranged on grocery shelves like Gala apples are a pathetic substitution for flavorful, June heirlooms.
HUMMINGBIRDS.
Photo by Andrea Reiman | Unsplash
In our backyard, 2018 has been the year of hummingbirds. I will miss watching these amazing creatures flit about our backyard. We’ve gone through at least ten pounds of sugar keeping them fed this spring and summer. Believe it or not, making a pot of sugar water, cleaning, and refilling our three feeders has become a relaxing part of my summer routine.
Our VIEW.
When roses bloom and trees and shrubs grow lush, the view beyond my kitchen window is pretty stunning. Once winter comes and the world lays bare, I have to look more closely for inspiration.
SUNSHINE.
Yes, as the days grow shorter and our daily allotment of sunshine shrinks, we’ll feel it in our bones and spirit. Too bad we can’t bottle a few golden rays and save a Mason jar-full for a cold winter night.
CONEFLOWERS and BLACK-EYED SUSANS.
Farewell to the flowers and bees they attract. The yard will be lonely without them. Yes, mums help fill the void. Soon, holiday twinkle lights will provide joy. But still…
BUTTERFLIES.
They will be here a while longer but soon the monarchs will journey South, the milkweed will die back, and all will seem quiet.
With ten days until fall, there’s still time to squeeze in a bit more summer.
What will you miss most about summer?
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
Your pictures are especially pretty today. I shall still wear white.
Thanks! Me, too. We can wear whatever we want.
I will miss the fresh food from the Farmers market and all the amazing flowers
Me too, Cathy! Thankfully we have Ozark Natural Foods and the market next door to it.
I will miss your summer photos and hearing all about the birds and bees and butterflies in your yard. Of course I know you will find an enjoyable substitute. I’m already missing the longer daylight hours. We can’t walk at 6:00 a.m. now and soon even 6:45 will still be too dark.
The darkness seems to happen so quickly doesn’t it?
I miss the fresh garden veggies, especially the maters and okra. Who else loves okra? My granny’s country kitchen produced the most amazing meals.
I love love love okra. In fact, I’m cooking some today!
I’ve grown a garden this year, not nearly as big as my dad used to grow, but the largest I have grown. I had squash, bell peppers, jalapeño peppers, okra, and tomato’s. If anyone needs any Jalapeño peppers I have about 50 in my refrigerator, and probably 150 still on the vine. My wife and I began canning the peppers, and pickling the squash. Neither of us had ever canned anything before though I remember my mother with hundreds of canned jars and 2 freezers of packaged vegetables. I have really had fun doing this and learning about some things my parents did that I took for granted.
I love this Ken! I would love to can but I’ve never done it either.