Signposts of the Seasons:

Earlier this year, I posted a message entitled:it must be spring, the eagles have gone.

Now is my second. The fresh Copper River Sockeye have appeared in the store. It always happens when the chestnuts are in full bloom. If you havent moved through a grove of chestnuts in bloom, you wont know what that means. The musky, earthy smell. We also collected 20 lbs of black mulberries for wine production. Will see how that works.

Well, the chestnuts are in bloom and the salmon is here. That means summer. A treat that cant be equaled. Cooked properly, nothing much equals Copper River Sockeye.

What are the signs of summer that you see in your area.

Best wishe

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), June 11, 2000

Answers

A sign in my area is all the sail boats on the lake.

-- boo (boo@home.com), June 11, 2000.

"Z", did you just watch "Touched by an Angel?" Are you a "Gate Keeper?". Two hours ago I would have called you bored. Now I call you a "Gate Keeper". Plenty Good news in my area. Unexpected rain fell from the Heavens, on a land laid dry, fires and such. In a land where daily summer rain was the expected, and we cursed it. We pray for it to come back. My first experience with raising White Peking ducks is happening. I see nature happening before my eyes. But this type of posting of hope and wonderment will bring death to this forum. Even GICC or whatever has ebbed, and those are the Farm Folks! May chance, those who try to see beauty in anything, (except Y2K, Back!, Back! you Evil Beast!". I have it pretty good in this skin life. I have shelter (specifically a damn Double-WIIIDE for the past year, maybe the next"). I drive a 10 year old auto which gets me from point A to point B. Anything between, is mans' conceit. It is a Chariot. I am wealthy, beyond means, compared to the poor starved people in China, and other countries whose life's stories flash briefly on our t.v. screen. I am money broke as can be, but I have been bestowed with riches, which no money can buy. Such as friendship between honest folks, some who have physical mula, some who don't. It is an interesting journey.

-- Z, Thank you for (d@opportunity.com), June 11, 2000.

Z:

We're still getting the unanticipated rains from a hurricane that swept the gulf, so I can't say this is typical of our summers...more typical of spring or fall here. Before the rains came, however, the heat was high enough to fry eggs on the driveway and cook the vegetables trying to grow outside. Northern folks go outside and tan in the summer. Folks in Texas stay inside in the summer. I've been indoors for so long that I'm starting to look like Casper.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), June 11, 2000.

Butterfly weed(brilliant orange),Elder(elderberry wine),Eastern Gamagrass in full bloom here.Monarch butterflies checking out the milkweed for egg laying sites.Still seriously dry in NW Mo. , but the native plants are handling it much better than the domesticated crops.

-- Sam (Wtrmkr52@aol.com), June 11, 2000.

First fireflies of the season out sparkin tonight among the endless sea of grassland waving under the windy moonlight.

-- Prairie Schooner (earth@ndsky.com), June 11, 2000.

yu guy,s are cool.

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), June 12, 2000.

I see the thick dew in the mornings laying on the grass and on the foliage and watch the heat and the sun pull the blanket of wetness back into the air,turning the refreshing morning into an afternoon sauna.This to me is the "sweet southern soultriness",this is what I thrive on,this is the promise that helps me make it through the cold,dead,God forsaken winter.This is a promise kept.

I see the young animals growing to adolescence,stretching their curiosity and physical abilities,sometimes for their amusement and sometimes to the peril of their lives.

I feel the profuse sweat stream down my face,into my eyes and finally to my mouth where I can taste the proof that I am the salt of the earth or more precisely the salt of the ocean.

I feel the freedom that only summer can unlock,setting everything in its path free,free to feel and ride the hot humid wind.

I watch the scantily clad women endeavoring to bronze their bodies,each and everyone a sun goddess in their own right,noticing in awe the special blend of tropical oils and water that clings to their bodies after enjoying a summer dip in the pool or lake.

I relish and savor the special taste and effect an ice cold beer takes on,gliding down my dry parched throat under an intense and unforgiving sun ,it is surely much akin to the nectar the Greeks called "ambrosia".

It is SUMMER and ALL IS WELL : ) Party on Garth!!!

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), June 12, 2000.

Went to church, went swimming with the kids, got some reading done, cooked up some meat & washed it down with some nice, legal, beer, and relaxed.

A pretty good Summer day, all told,

Frank

-- Someone (ChimingIn@twocents.cam), June 12, 2000.

Pennies left on a dashboard, scorching the hand. An afternoon shower, shaping clothes to skin, tearing the face, puddling the straw, drought-stricken ground. Wolf spiders slinking to toilets and tub for a drink.

The shaky eagerness of preteens let out of school. Volleyballs bleached in the sun. Engine knocking from Xtreme heat. A sweaty night, waiting for dawn.

Young mallard, patiently sitting on old eggs, never to hatch. Spring turns to summer.

-- Normally (Oxsys@aol.com), June 12, 2000.

I'm not trying to be trite, but a sure sign of summer for me is the actual signs: Flagger Ahead, Crew in Trees, Construction Next 14 Miles. For those who think I've lost it, remember that I'm in an area where major outdoor work stalls from October - April.

-- (kb8um8@yahoo.com), June 12, 2000.

Sam:

I am a ways southeast of you. According to my very, non-sophisticated rain gauge we got 3.5 inches yesterday. We got 1.5 inches over 8 h, followed by 2 in about 30 minutes [you know how it goes here]. Suprisingly, it all appeared to soak in. We should get more today. Looking at radar, it appears that you won't get any of this storm. I was in your area a short while ago and it appeared dry.

Best wishes,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), June 12, 2000.

Summer signs in the UK now:Wimbledon Tennis Championships and strawberries for sale by the side of the road,village cricket,the summer fete,mallards & ducks with young,the dog moulting & the swallows arriving.

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), June 12, 2000.

"Normally",

Take your next to last sentence and drop the word "patiently". Voila, a haiku! Nicely done-----

Young mallard

sitting on old eggs

never to hatch

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), June 12, 2000.

Hey thanks Lars!! I knew there was something about that event..

-- Normally (Oxsys@aol.com), June 12, 2000.

Tree frog

tickles his tonsils

longing for a date.

Coats impenetrable

shave the four-leggeds

heatstroke threat vanquished.

Lars, do these qualify? Haven't Haiku'd before. Fingers crossed tightly. :^)

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), June 12, 2000.

Having to purchase one of those furry things for my leather steering wheel, so I wont keep on burning my hands.

Going up to Sandusky Bay to just hold my grandchild and take him shopping in the car as the boats gently pass by on the Lake.

Laying upon the deck of my pool, basking in the summer feeling the warmth on my face while giving the raft a BJ (could not resist, :-)

Seeing the bluejay sit upon my fence awaiting my 16 yr old whom this bird has grown to detest!!!!!! One day the bird will get my son!!!!

Humor and a cool group to 'check in' with at longer intervals now shows IT IS SUMMER.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), June 14, 2000.

LMAO!!! Giving the raft a BJ : )

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), June 14, 2000.

Capn:

C

I

Knew

You'd

appreciate that one.....lmao too!!!!!

sumer

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), June 14, 2000.

Wow. This was a pretty classy thread. I loved some of those descriptions of summer. Didn't realize there were so many poets here.

-- CD (costavike@hotmail.com), June 14, 2000.

CD,

Come on and give us your thoughts and insights into your summer : )

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), June 14, 2000.

You realize of course, capn, that you are asking of me something that would require effort on my part. Truth is, I've sworn off putting out any effort beyond unfoldin' the beach lounge-chair and poppin' cold beers during this, the best season of the year. Not only that, but what you had written in your description said it all perfectly for me. You drew a great picture, cap'n. Excellent writing.

-- CD (costavike@hotmail.com), June 15, 2000.

CD,

Thanks dude,I do agree about doing the least as possible with the exception of course for 12oz. curles : )

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), June 15, 2000.

Prefers 16 ounce curls, and an 'occasional margarita' poolside

When I have finished my daily exercise routine, I also engage in a lil Bailey's on the rocks, so neighbor will think I'm drinking chocolate milk....yeah right :-)

Here at work, it is slowwwwwwwww still, not a 'good' sign

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), June 16, 2000.