Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Senses Of Summer

A feast for the senses! The scents and sights and sounds from deep in the heart of summer...

  • Newly mown grass
  • Petrichor after a welcome, surprise thunderstorm
  • Cool mint, mowed down right along with the grass
  • Fresh dirt clinging to garden bounty
  • BBQ grills fired up all over the neighborhood
  • Fresh air and sunshine on line-dried laundry

  • Sheet lightning in the distant nighttime sky
  • Rainbows in the spray of the hose
  • Neighborhood kids running through the shimmer of the lawn sprinkler
  • Red and white striped tents at the farmers' market
  • Piles of fresh veggies straight from the earth
  • Fresh laundry billowing in the breeze
  • Fireflies blinking their presence in the evening

  • The crackle and sizzle of summer lightning
  • The rumble of thunder early in the morning
  • The plop of heavy drops on the sidewalk when the rain finally comes
  • The trill of crickets and cicadas in the heat of the day
  • Marching band music wafting up the hill from the high school
  • The whirring of window fans, tower fans, box fans, ceiling fans...
  • Kids splashing in the pool next door l-a-t-e into the night
  • The snapping of sheets on the clothesline
  • And did I mention the wind chimes on the front porch? Great in any season!

Ok, it looks like I'm enjoying summer a little too much. Don't forget, it is still August in Texas. It is still Africa-hot. It is too hot to escape the sweat running down inside your clothes. It is too hot to cook anything in the oven. It is too hot to sleep under a cover, even just a light sheet. So, on the other side...

  • A hot dog, languishing in the sun
  • The overpowering scent stench emanating from the too-infrequently-picked-up dumpster
  • The rotting of the compost pile (although eventually this changes to rich chocolate-brown dirt, see #3 above)
  • Mildew odors on wet towels
  • Chlorine smells evaporating from swimming pools
  • Sweaty clothes
  • The acrid smoke from a grass fire

  • Overweight women in if-this-size-fits-you-have-no-business-wearing-it bikinis at the public pool
  • In any public place, the skimpiest of clothing leaving bra straps hanging out on the top, butt cheeks hanging out on the bottom, and nothing to the imagination
  • Old men in short shorts exposing their hairy white legs and knobby knees
  • Yards full of sad yellow grass
  • Parched, wilted, saggy, droopy gardens

  • LOUD crap rap music blaring from passing cars with their windows rolled down
  • Air conditioners working overtime
  • The ice cream truck coming down the street (The Princess calls it "the music truck.")
  • The increased traffic of the comings and goings gearing up to start school (We live in a Bermuda Triangle amid three schools.)
  • The screeched protest of an overworked fan
  • Crispy, dead grass crackling underfoot
  • Gangs of motorcycles revving up to hit the road

So. For better or for worse: Summer. In all its glory/misery.

2 comments:

Mary said...

Cute post! BTW, Hope my latest posts haven't been too hard for you to read. Just giving my testimony. We are having a nice cool summer up here!

Marytoo said...

No, no, no, do not worry about your posts! I happen to agree with a great many of the things you say in regard to, you know... "the church." I do think the church here has changed a great deal since you were here, because we have seen a big change since we first came here in the early 80's. Still, a long way to go, and it never hurts to take a good look at oneself. :-)

Thanks for coming by. ;-)