Enjoy the dog days of summer

The heat finally showed up, and now we start limiting our time outside in the middle of the day. Water is the best friend of most of us right now and like a local man wearing his farm boy overalls with the legs rolled up for some air flow, counseled, “Get in the water and just sit there. It is very therapeutic.” That is advice worth receiving.

The gardeners are also smiling a bit more now because the extreme sunshine has awakened the tomatoes, strawberries and other planted treasures, and they are now taking off. The fruit trees also started spitting out their bounties, and plums, apricots and peaches seem to be teeming from the local trees.

The birds and insects are abuzz with life now too. The heat seems to have awakened up every living thing out there and driven the heat-conscious ones back indoors. Our cats now spend most of the day in the shade, and the two little dogs, Huck and Buck, spend their time in a horse trough filled just for them. Beaches filled, ice machines running full tilt, and air conditioning woes. Yep summer finally showed up. Stay hydrated out there. Drink lots of water, and limit your time in the rays. That is good advice.

This is also the time of year when the big count starts. No, not the election days count, but the back-to-school count. Just over 30 days until we send the little youngsters back to get educated and parents everywhere can let out that big sigh of relief. As the parents enjoy some quiet time again, the teachers are getting ramped up to accept the kids into their classrooms and start molding the minds of the future. For some, this will be their last year teaching; for others, their first. But the excitement is just the same for both. New programs, new teachers, new principals and staff. Old friends, new friends and long lost returned. Here we go, an exciting and unknown year ahead of us. Sports will start ramping up and the work toward wins and sportsmanship starts. The heat will beat down as the athletes strive for hitting the next level in their personal goals. Excitement will ring in the ears of all.

The dog days of summer. There is something about listening to an American flag flapping in the slight breeze, a sprinkler running in the distance, a hummingbird’s wings as it flits from feeder to feeder. Kids playing outside, letting their uncontrollable laugh explode from their lips. The awesome smells from a barbecue filling the air, the refreshing swallow of an ice-cold sun tea as you sit on the porch. All these thing remind us: yes, summer is here and it is good. Take time to enjoy it. It is worth it. Soon we will be too busy to even remember what we did this summer and looking forward to the next one.

As we are here enjoying our summer, I can’t help but think of my friend Jaci Gross, “Miss G” to most of you. Walking a big walk across the Atlantic Ocean in the very warm hills and streets of a foreign land. A pilgrim’s voyage, by herself for the most part, letting God speak to her and encourage her and grow her. Much like our gardens here at home, she is being cultivated and cared for. And when the time comes, her harvest will be bountiful. I cannot wait to hear about her adventure, much like I can’t wait for the fresh peaches ripening on the trees. Both will be sweet, satisfying and worth it. Yep, the dog days of summer are here. Enjoy them.