H/t to Ray Bradbury: thank you for your gift of some of the greatest writing ever!
The oddest thing about ‘Seasonal’ writing is that everything old is new again, nearly every year. I see the glint of Summer light on a building and I am agog with delight, as if I haven’t seen that same glint for the past 6 decades. Either I have a Beginner’s Mind…or I am a lunatic. Whichever it is, I am glad of it, because it is a pleasure and a privilege to be transported by things, even if those ‘things’ are such that you’ve experienced so many times before. Or perhaps it’s because they have been experienced so many times before that the continued ability to transport is what is delightful? Who knows? Who cares! All I know is it is a gorgeous, glancing light.
And it’s particularly welcome now because it’s heralding the onset of Summer – NORMAL Summer. We’ve had the weirdest weather here lately – August temps in early June (high 90s! What the Actual FUCK? (to quote Miss March – I, myself, Do Not Swear 😉 with nighttime rains, much like Caribbean weather patterns. Then it plunged into low 60s with a driving rain for several days, folks in jackets, scarves and long pants….now it’s in the high 70s, where it belongs…until it goes into triple digits for the weekend. It’s wet, wild and weird. And it’s caused us to have All Summer in a Day (if you’ve never read the Bradbury short story, I hope you will. I doubt there is a lovelier, more heartbreaking story.) My neighbor has RIPE TOMATOES! In June! I haz Sunflowers! It’s kinda scary!
Take a look at these photos
6′ stand!
I don’t know about your garden, but in mine the lilies on the left precede the ones on the right by about 3 weeks. Yet here they are, cohabiting as if we’ve been invaded by alien pods, bent on twisting our planet’s DNA just a whick…
but it is pretty! It looks like a Hollywood version of a garden, with things improbably blooming next to each other. I was going to try to be dismayed, thinking ‘omg. what will be blooming in JULY! ‘ Then I thought ‘hell, I don’t have any guarantees that I will be here in July, so better enjoy each day as it comes!’ I refuse to be one of those gardeners/farmers who always has a ‘but’ of mild complaint. I’m here, the weather’s queer, enjoy the beauty that is set before you!
btw, I did not take these photos. These are the eye of Saturdays Francine (who took them on …Saturday! ) – much lovelier than I could ever compose. I can build it – but I suck at shooting it!
Okay – I’m OUT! but not before I tell you I am going to get The Girl to pull a couple of names because omg is this a lame-o post and y’all are just TOO KIND to even read it, let alone comment. I have to get back to quoting some conveyor thingy for a mine so I need to hustle. I owe y’all some winners from another post, I know, so I will put EVERYBODY who won in the next post, I promise.
Tell me a weather story! The Girl is eager to know how your Summer weather is shaping up. When she’s not posing, showing her ladyparts!
OMG I am so STINKIN’ Cute!!!
Enjoyed your garden photos very much! My beloved pink jasmine vines are confused by the weather. They stopped blooming in the spring, but we’ve had so many cool days since then they put out a few more flowers for me this week. I have a small vase on my desk so I can sniff them as I work.
Today is cloudy and cool, we are forecast to have pleasant days until July 4, then the next day will be close to 100 degrees. I’d take all of the summer heat in a day if I could. It will be about four months of all day air conditioning, I’m thankful for the AC and every moment it cools us down.
Here in Northern Virginia we’ve had way more rain than usual this spring and summer. My DH hasn’t been able to go disc golfing because the course hasn’t had enough dry days to dry out. Every so often we’ll have a day that’s glorious, but mostly it’s been cool and rainy with an occasional beastly hot/humid day, which is what we expect. Plants are growing like crazy. I pruned and trimmed everything in late spring, but it already looks like I did nothing! I also read and loved “Dandelion Wine” by Bradbury. 🙂
We have unusually warm weather again here in Oslo. May was also really, really warm. A few days of cooler weather before Midsummer was just nice, the rain cleared the air.
Now watering the garden using a hose has been banned by the municipality, our increased water consumption means the capacity to deliver clean, treated water has reached a limit. So even with water reservoirs nearly full we have to save on water. If not, we may end up having to boil the drinking water. An unusual situation indeed.
Love the lilies!
This year’s weather not withstanding, I think winter of 2016 made for some very strange plant/tree growth last year. A tree leafed out on the lower half and nothing on the top half, hostas made a very poor showing, old rose bushes barely took the time to do very much of anything and bushes that normally need a ton of trimming held back very much growth. Now this year, roses are getting a late start due to the never ending rain and cold with late sun and heat, but overall it looks like Ireland. Tree is fully leafed out, hostas outdoing themselves and bushes are showing off.
Mother Nature has its own way of doing things and we are just by-standers is my take.
I was thinking the weather is kinda wonky this year myself. It seems a bit cooler than it should be here in the Northeast but there have been some absolutely perfect days that I wish we could have more of instead of the heat that’s due this weekend. Your flowers are glorious and the girl? Soon to be enjoying the dog days of summer!
I love the photo of your Girl, makes me smile to see that sweet face! Big smooch to her!
The weather has been all over the place in Colorado. Hot, cool, dry, rain, high winds, hail. I’m so thankful there has been no hail at my house though; last June my backyard plants were shredded by a hail storm with damage to back patio, windows, and roof. So far most of my plants have recovered and look great this summer. Record high of 100 degrees is forecasted for tomorrow!
We just had our first triple-digit heat weekend and everything in the yard died! That makes me worry about a long fire season this year. Stay safe & comfortable in whatever weather you’re having!
According to Perfume Posse on-line, Christian Dior’s Diorissimo “is the undisputed queen” of lily-of-the-valley perfumes, first formulated by Edmond Roundnitska in 1956. It was Christian Dior’s favorite flower. They have different formulations of the fragrance, but the “vintage pure parfum…is spring rushing out of a bottle, and it is one of the few perfumes that bring me into alignment of acting ‘like a lady’ complete with white gloves and pillbox hat.” The author refers to Guerlain Muguet as Diorissimo’s Ladies in Waiting. It’s issued each year on May Day, can be difficult to find and costs over $400.
I was writing an article onLilyoftheValley and is how I found Perfume Posse……happy find.
c
Loved Ray Bradbury – The Illustrated Man collection of short science fiction stories….I was probably sitting in an oak tree reading my paperback.
Here in Naples, FL we are hot and humid. Surprise?!? Just as it gets almost too steamy, the sky opens up with torrential rains, lightening & violent sounding thunder. After about 30 minutes, it’s back to sunshine. No humidity, nice and comfortable.
Yup, just another typical summer in South Florida! 🙂
I am in Kenilworth, Il and those 3 days in the 90’s (high mind you) about killed me and confirmed why I don’t, will never, ?god willing live in my town of birth San Antonio, TX. I have family there, elderly mother, 2 grans and a daughter. May, again mind you, was in the high 90’s even then. It is evil heat and humidity. Colorado then for another 8th grade graduation and can’t say I love the altitude or much of anything else there. But granddaughter is precious so what’s a little breathless discomfort.
Days of rain followed the heatwave and now seems to be settling down. My very old New Dawn rose has quietly decided not to be in a big hurry to bloom. Don’t blame it, feed it and there will be more years in the future when again it will be glorious.
Plan to read your book suggestion.
6 Degrees! 355 Kenilworth Avenue (in my youth). I LOVE Kenilworth and the whole North Shore. Miss the living daylights out of it. Plaza del Lago. Is the fishmonger still there? Can I come home? Please?
And I LUH San Antonio. In November/December. The Riverwalk. Lovely! xoxoxoxo
Oh my, that is the last response I ever expected.Wow! Yes, the fishmonger is still there, CVS and Yellow Bird..cleaner too. I am on the West side. When I first got here someone said that the West is the kennel side and the east is the worth side….Welcome though. I love it, safe. Feel lucky, write for Classic Chicago on-line, dispatch Cote d’Azur. I’m new to it but have written for Kenilworth life since 2012, Behind the Garden Gate and in the past when it was larger, local clubs and travel. Disappointed it has shrunk in size, but keeps me busy thinking up things to ponder, from Ikebana to Lily of the Valley most recently.
My daughter used to live in the King William but now Terrell Hills, we lived on Geneseo in TH. Go there at Christmas and other times when necessary but that heat is just too killer to return and Kenilworth ain’t at all bad. LOL If you’re ever around these parts…coffee at Starbucks….did I mention it’s inPlaza del Lago 🙂
So Musette (part of my email is ebuvette) Kindred spirit that you are. Knew I would love Perfume Posse and I do indeed. Merci for clever writing. xoxoxoxo
P.S. Looked up 355 and I’ve been in that house a thousand years ago for a meeting or something. It is one of the MOST gorgeous houses that hasn’t been torn down or “augmented”.
I’m in coastal South Carolina. High high temperatures, even for here, and torrential rains. Ugly weather. My tomatoes died before they even flowered. Lots of roses and blackspot. All I want is ac. Never read Summer in a Day. Maybe my library has it.
omg. O.M.G. Sounds like Jurassic Park! xoxo
Yes! Bradbury weather! It’s been like “The Veldt” here, and then suddenly like “The Long Rain”!
this is why I love my Posse. Literary weather references!!! xoxoxo
Ms A, you know how my weather has been, with Sunday and Monday perfect, blissful June days. Local strawberries and red raspberries (my favorite) at the farmer’s market. But last week I went to Indy with my crazy daughter, a trip we make every few months, in absolutely blinding rain both coming and going. She drove, 80 all the way, on I69 with the music on and us singing at the top of our lungs. She grew up with an eclectic mix of music playing all the time and while she’s always been a Sinatra fan, she’s now into the duets he sang with his daughter Nancy – “and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you”….talk about an earworm. You’re welcome. PS the pics are gorgeous. My mother has lilies in that gorgeous dark vivid orange and we look forward to them every year.
omg! that sounds like a blast!
are the drafts still bringing produce to the market? I need to visit!
xoxoxo
That’s a different market and yes 🙂 one advantage of country living is all the farmer’s markets in all the little towns and of course those who have individual produce stands in their front yards. Zucchini in June? Yep, it’s here!
We’ve been veering between reasonable summer heat (80s) to ICK (90s with humidity).
doesn’t sound toooo bad! It’s the 30-40 degree swings that freak me out! xoxoxo
The West Coast recently had a fairly tepid heat wave. Late June coolness and clouds so nothing unusual.
I hope it continues thus. I like ‘nothing unusual’! 😉 xoxox
It’s balmy here in Montreal, low 20’s and no humidity. Perfect summer weather for me! But alas the heat and humidity are coming…
‘coming’ is okay, imo. We’re having it already! and that’s scary! Such a yo-yo, temps-wise. xoxoxo
Yes, the weather is pretty strange in Europe too. End of May I was at the coastside for a weekend and the sea was warm like normally in August. I was happy like a baby….last weekend I went again and expected nothing less yet the sea was too cold for me to go for a swim. Then came the rain and a northern wind. Such a disappointment…
it is weird, innit? Ours dropped exactly like that! xoxoxo
I remember “April Witch” ^ of course Fahrenheit 451.
I’ve been wearing Miss Rocaille for a few days because of (what for the San Francisco area) is very hot weather. Miss R combines green + floral + and basil. It’s less sweet than Jo Malone’s lime-basil blend & feels very fresh. Hot weather alternatives for me are Eau Cedrat or Hermes Eau d’Orange or Eau de Gentiane Blanc.
If you have’t seen it, go to “Oceans 8” I parked myself at the theater for the a/c & really liked this girl gang/jewel thief/caper movie.
Eau Cedrat! I LOVE that stuff! And the movie sounds like a perfect summer escape, A/C and all! xxoxoxo
I went to a discount store and bought Lovely. Don’t know if it’s me or what, but I can’t smell it for more than like 10 seconds! Glad I didn’t pay much, but I’m still annoyed.
yikes! 10 seconds? That sounds much like Marc Jacobs Cucumber. A gorgeous, light scent, going on. Then…10 seconds later it’s all ‘wait. didn’t I just put on some perfume?’ xoxoxo
I am not at all fond of “All Summer in a Day.” Which is to say I reread it every decade or so and feel my insides twist with sorrow.
which is what makes it a masterpiece, imo. It’s meant to break our hearts – and it does so, beautifully! xoxoxo
I just went on a trip to Ohio actually and it did not thunderstorm as promised, for which I am thankful. It was lovely out; just perfectly not too hot and not too cold.
But yes it has been weird here and the flowers are confused.
Lightweight wide scarves are my friend.
After revisiting Fahrenheit 451 and only half remembering it I’ve decided the next real book I read is going to be Bradbury… I remember the sound of Summer Running more as a feeling then as a story. Which I guess is the best kind of story.
it is the best kind of story, imo. and I am with you on the lightweight, wide scarves. On Friday I wore a very lightweight, long, cotton cardigan, made wearable (in the 60F, driving rain) by the addition of a shawl-sized silk scarf! xoxo
Our weather in Ohio has been the same. Today is just perfect thought! After lots of rain. When you mentioned Bradbury, I always think of Dandelion Wine. That book and the wine are summer in a glass.
I love that! And…to copy your sentiment, when you mentioned Ohio, I thought of Jungle Jim’s! xoxo