Spring is over…
June 16, 2010
Summer is here, officially or not. We’ve already enjoyed poppies, berry picking,
fireflies and watermelon birthdays.
But it ain’t all easy. Ticks are biting and the heat index is high. At work, it’s my busy season, full of a few hundred high school students.
At home, it’s the season of snakes and bugs.
Faux spiders in the kitchen, crickets in the tub, moths on the window. The lamps are their strongholds.
Not pictured are chiggers, flies, mosquitoes, or the clumps of daddy long legs that huddle over the screen door and fall over me when I’m the first to go outside in the morning. That’ll wake you up quicker than a cold shower.
Is summer shaping up where you are?
19 Comments
leave one →
Five to Nine 
I am so jealous of the snakes! I want to see a snake! I know that’s weird, but oh well.
I can’t wait to see you Saturday night!
Mel, just wait until the house is finished. If you visit us out there, it’s only a matter of time before you see some snakes. 🙂
My skin crawled at the picture of the snake – a phobia of mine. And if My Guy sees the spider, he would cringe too – his phobia. I’ve lived in a city all my life and lately, I’ve felt the pull and longing of a quieter life, away from all that assault from the moment I step outside my house, but after this post, I may have to reconsider. I don’t do well with “wild life” other than the squirrels, raccoons and the occasional rats in the alley.
Great pictures, by the way. I’m especially fond of fireflies and you’ve captured them well here. Oh and watermelon birthday cakes?? I’m so stealing that!
Way to pull us in with adorably grubby hands and yummy berries only to end with chill-inducing creepy-crawlies! I have to say your posts so often give me a quick little pang for home sweet Arkansas…but it’s been ages since I’ve seen a daddy long leg and I’d like to keep it that way ;)! Although here in Texas summer means fire ants and big as your face mosquitoes – maybe an occasional daddy long leg in place of these wouldn’t be so bad?
That watermelon birthday shot is spectacular, what a good idea! I might have to do that on Paige’s birthday in August 🙂
Your photos are gorgeous!!
Like Justine, I’m snake phobic! But I saw the first fireflies the other night. I love it – that’s what always signals summertime to me. Magical.
Summer has indeed arrived. And I have a mental image of ants in our dining room swarming a wayward Teddy Graham to prove it. 🙂
Tell me about it. I’ve been making ant traps like crazy.
I’m practically jumping at the thought of spiders, even daddy long legs, falling down on my head first thing in the morning. Or, any time, really. Shudder.
I think that I’ve made it abundantly clear how I feel about summer in Monday’s post, BUT the pciture of berry picking makes summer a little bit okay. maybe.
I hate spiders. Hate, hate, hate them. My landlord has agreed to come and spray when I see an abundance of spiders. To me that means one. : )
Watermelon birthday cake? Berry picking? Splendid! I do love summertime.
Berries and fingers! What could be more gorgeous that that.
And your watermelon!! I’m stealing that for when the temperatures soar for a BBQ we’re having this weekend.
Arghh! That snake made me flinch. Oh man. I haven’t seen a garter snake in years, but always used to see them at my parents farm. And I would promptly run the other direction. So I’m quite amazed you got the great photo!
Spiders though? No problem.
Man, this ended up being a post about phobias more than those delicious berries!
What beautiful pictures!
I am a mosquito magnet. I’d like summer a lot more if there were no humidity and no mosquitoes.
Ain’t that the truth, Jana!!
I saw a snake about a couple of weeks ago. It was the first time I saw a snake that wasn’t at the zoo. Red on its belly and black on the outside – which I learned can be a sign of a poisonous snake.
The desert is fully immersed in the summer. From June to October, temps will always be in the 90’s to the 100 degrees mark. Last July, on one day, we hit a high of 117 degrees.
I love love LOVE the watermelon birthday! Now, I’m sitting here trying to find sombody’s birthday this summer to celebrate (all of my family’s bdays are in the cooler months)! Thanks for sharing these wonderful pics.
I’m in East Tennessee and summer is shaping up in very much the same way. Lots of bugs and critters and just the other night, we picked our first berries of the season!
I knew it was summer when I started sweating just being outside. Hot + humid.
Even with the bugs and snakes and heat, I love summer. I love the long days.
Haaaaaaaaate summer. Hate it. Heat and mosquitoes and sweating and stinky feet? Blech. Watermelon cakes and chubby, tiny, fruit-stained fingers would almost make it tolerable … almost. =>