Signs of Summer

Summer is visiting Kingston. I can tell by all the old friends I have seen this week. The ducks are visiting regularly and becoming so bold as to walk through the rose garden in search for bugs. Even Duffy has no effect on their parade. I sit on the porch early in the morning having coffee and reading, without a coat and scarf. The noise of the birds is constant all day long but the frogs have mostly gone quiet at night. This morning I spied a bright yellow goldfinch on the front wire and the other day a busy hummingbird. The wood pecker is looking for treats everywhere, the electrical box and eucalyptus tree but not yet the house. And the weeds are growing faster than I can possibly keep up but I haven't yet given up- that comes in another month.

On an early morning walk I surprised a mother rose-rat (read here DEER) quietly browsing the side grass of a neighbors road. It is a good thing he didn't meet the coyote that surprised us both when he leaped over a berm of blackberries onto the road. His backward movement was almost a cartoon when he saw me standing in front of him. I suspect I was the more scared! I hear the coyotes calling one another occasionally but haven't seen one WALKING before.

It may last only for a week but the excitement of summer has definitely arrived. I am reminded of the excitement the arrives with Christmas and suddenly realize the similarities. Both seasons hold emotional memories of magic and play, set in our childhoods when play was the only focus of life and the structure of magic and fun was set by our parents. This often leads us to disappointment when the summers and Christmases of our adult life do not meet our childhood expectations.

But we can return to those seasons of magical fun again when we take on the responsibility of building a magical structure for ourselves and for others around us. The energy of building and planning does not take away from the loose, fancy free idea of summer. Rather it returns the commitment to play and to making time for fun in our days. Make this summer memorable by constantly giving effort to play. Take small moments to have ice cream with friends and larger moments for kite flying or a walk through the park. Lay in the sun with a glass of iced tea and read (it only takes a few moments if that is all you have). The summer is yours for the making. Enjoy it!