I am not a fan of summer, and most especially, not a fan of July. The only things I like in this hot, humid month are the birthdays of family and friends, and fresh veggies from the garden. I know that sounds whiny, but it's the truth--this is my least favorite month of the year.
But I persevere, and try to find what good there is to be found in this mid-year month. Of course, the best thing is my youngest son, born on the 30th of the month. And usually, tomatoes, although this year it looks like it will be August before we have our first ripe one. Thank you, cold wet spring, for this disappointment and delay!
Still, there are good things. The days are a little shorter and cool off in the evenings earlier. There are fireflies, and at dusk the hoot-owl in the woods. There is the fragrance of herbs--lavender, lemon balm, rosemary, dill all scent the air if brushed by my hand. There is bee balm too with its spicy fragrance, marigolds and the headiness of lilies.
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July
Loud is the summer's busy song
The smallest breeze can find a tongue,
While insects of each tiny size
Grow teasing with their melodies,
Till noon burns with its blistering breath
Around, and day lies still as death.
And Stephen Patrick, another English poet, had his own view of the month:
Sleepy July in Skipwith Common
Across the open common land
shines glowing purple floral blooms
The bumble bee can hardly stand,
as flowers' scent is rising fumes
And lies there in the summer shade
a resting deer quite joyfuly
for in this beauteous sunlit glade
all's observed by sent'nel tree
This tall oak stands by sparkling stream,
whose water splashes grass and rock,
reflecting in its azure gleam,
the woodland plant and dandy clock
While goes beneath the cloudless sky,
amidst a warm and dreamy breeze,
a squirrel idling, passing by,
past numerous, careless, floating seeds.
And yet one more Brit, Ruth Pitter, says this about July in her poem, "The Diehards":
We go in withering July
To ply the hard incessant hoe;
Panting beneath the brazen sky
We sweat and grumble, but we go.
Yes, Pitter has it right. "We sweat and grumble, but we go".
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
Not much sweating for the Brits so far this July. But plenty of grumbling for sure.
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you on my opinion of July....& August. We can sit on our screened porch before 7, after that we are blasted with a hot summer sun, even with the curtains pulled for a little filtered shade.
ReplyDeleteMy grandson will play there all morning though, with the sun streaming in. I set up his water table with lots of old enamelware pots & tubs. He pours, splashes, drinks or swims his toys through the water. I remember when the summer sun did not matter to me at all.
I'm roasting cherry tomatoes today. Such a delicious smell.
It's a small batch recipe called 'tomato spread' from the cookbook "Preserving by the Pint". I love her books. They are all one to 4 pint/quart recipes that can easily be processed while I do other things....without much work at all. I'm not over run with tomatoes at this point but I do have a little more than we can just eat every day.
Stay well
Those English poets are writing about a summer that I am dreaming about, we have had temperatures cooler than spring for the last five or six weeks, it is starting to warm up a little now I only hope that it continues for long enough for some of my veggies to do their thing!
ReplyDeleteSweat and grumble! Still we go in Iowa too!
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