Things I Like About Summer

Killing Flies: I hate flies flitting around. There’s not much I can do about them outside, but woe be the fly who enters my inner sanctum. I get great pleasure in scoring a direct hit with the fly swatter. In August, around the time of the county fair, the fly population in Hermiston increases dramatically. Even with screens on every window and air conditioning, the flies still find a way into our house. The husband and I will occasionally go on a rampage of fly hunting. Only confirmed kills are added to the body count. I think I need to buy a new fly swatter for the upcoming competitions.

Rainbird Sprinklers: The husband and I were Peace Corp volunteers in Nicaragua. We spent three months in Costa Rica in training. The “training center” was an old coffee plantation and the classrooms were converted chicken coops. But, I received some of the best instruction of my life. I learned how to speak Spanish in those dirt floored classrooms. There was still coffee grown on the grounds. When the stress of adapting to a new culture and learning a new language got to me, I could walk the grounds and listen to the wop wop wop brrrrrrrr of the rainbird sprinklers. The sound still takes me back to a simpler time.

BBQ: I don’t like barbecue sauce. What I like is grilled meat, which in some areas of the country isn’t really considered barbecue. I don’t like writing out barbecue. It will always be BBQ to me and it won’t have sauce. There’s not much better than a BBQ hamburger, unless it’s a BBQ steak!

Swimming pools: When I was a kid we had a pool in the backyard and spent many hours swimming with our friends. There were always more kids who wanted to be our friends in the summer. My brother called them “pool pals.”

When my children were small, we had a pool and they spent hours every day swimming. Every summer my daughter’s hair turned green from the chlorine.

Now when I visit my granddaughters we go to the pool every day. It’s hot and humid in Texas and the water is cool and refreshing. The chemistry must be better now because my granddaughters don’t get green hair.

Long Days: As a kid I loved being able to stay outside later and later because it was still daylight. I still love the long days of sunshine. In the summer we can eat dinner in daylight. There’s time at the end of the day to take a bike ride in daylight. It’s even light in the morning, but I’m still not getting up early!