My family spent Memorial Day weekend at our cottage in the Finger Lakes, vacuuming, dusting, mowing, raking, picking up acorns, planting, observing the feral cat’s kittens under our house, and eventually getting out on the boat, at which point I said, “It’s officially ‘summer’.”
My son said, “No, it’s not. It’s not summer until school is over.” I could understand his feeling. After all, we did have to come home early so he could spend six hours of the holiday weekend on his homework. Some holiday, eh?!
Of course, some would say it’s not official until we reach the summer solstice, June 21st. The summer solstice occurs when the sun is in the zenith at the tropic of Cancer, creating the longest day of the year.
But on June 1st when our city reached a record high of ninety-one degrees and even the air conditioning couldn’t keep the humidity at bay, I said, “No, it’s definitely summer.”
So, is it a date, a time, a temperature, or an event that makes it “officially summer” in your mind? When does it feel like “summertime” to you?
10 comments:
For me, summer starts on Memorial Day weekend when there are more boats than cars filling up at the gas station.
I agree with your son. It may feel like summer when we are melting in hot classrooms, but as a teacher, summer officially starts when school is over.
Dictionary.com's second definition is: "the period comprising the months of June, July, and August in the U.S., and from the middle of May to the middle of August in Great Britain." Sounds about right to me.
Maybe next time some photos around your stamping grounds in Finger Lakes, Lisa?
It officially feels like summer to me when the danger of the last freeze has passed, and I can start planting flowers. That happened a couple of weeks ago in Colorado Springs and this week at my second home in Breckenridge. Because the temperatures during Colorado nights can dip so low, that last freeze can come pretty late in the year.
And I agree with Keith, I want photos Lisa!
In southern Arizona it's summer practically all year round, Lisa. So I lose track. Hit 100 degrees in late May. "Is it summer yet?"
We're aiming for close to 100 degrees already.
Global warming? I think so. Whatever it is, we're all going to have to reassess our ideas about summer, which seems to be arriving earlier and staying longer.
Not my favorite season!
Temps in the 80s or above, it's summer in my book!
Robin - That's a good measure.
Amy - Students and teachers think alike on that one!
Keith and Beth - That is my stomping grounds. Don't you see my cottage on the left side of the picture, about halfway down, see, in the trees :)
Darrell and Gin - We're 92 today so far and my daughter is on a field trip to a dairy farm. Can you imagine? I told her to move slowly all day.
Kathleen - Hereabouts anywhere above seventy can qualify as summer. I don't need or want it much hotter than that.
It's still not summer to me till school is out--despite the temp today being 90. There's something about school being out and kids playing outside during the day that says "summer" to me.
When I can walk barefoot, wear sun dresses and the gin and tonic flows, ahhh, that's summer.
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