THE SIMPLE PLEASURES OF SUMMER

 

 

When we think of the different seasons, certain things usually come to mind. Fall brings crisp days, trips to apple orchards and strolls through vibrant colors. Winter is walks in pristine snow, mugs of hot chocolate and snuggles with a good book. Spring is bursting with new life, new color and a warmth that draws us outside.

Then there is summer. You know, those lazy summer days when you enjoy morning coffee on the deck, go for a dip in the pool, spend a lazy summer afternoon in the hammock and sit in the cool evening breeze and watch fireflies. What?? I have seen these scenes portrayed so many times in the movies and wondered who in reality has time for these things.

In reality, summer is mowing the lawn, weeding the garden, tending to garden produce, mowing the lawn again, washing windows, digging into projects that have been put off for many summers, mowing the lawn again, weeding again and so on. At least this has been the reality for so many of us who live in the country.

 

Most people know that for farmers and gardeners, spring is for getting crops in and fall is for harvest. So, that should leave summer wide open for picnics, get-togethers at friends’ houses and general socializing, right?

 

Well, that all depends.  It all begins in the spring. Getting the crop in is not usually an eight-hour day. It’s pretty much from dawn to dusk and, depending on the weather, you generally can’t just plan on what days these will be. But, spring also brings graduation parties, weddings and other social events. I can’t count the times that we have literally ran from the field, jumped in the shower to get the layer of dirt off and then jumped in the car to make an event.

Then, in midsummer there are more weddings, July 4^th parties and summer fairs. If everything is right on schedule, this is also the time when garden produce is coming on. When it’s ready, it’s ready. It really makes no difference if I stagger plantings or not, it seems like every year tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, corn, green beans and a host of other varieties are all in their prime at the very same time. This also is not an 8 to 5 job.

Anyone who cans and preserves their own garden produce knows that this usually means harvesting in early morning, prepping jars and vegetables throughout the day, keeping the canner full and the cycle doesn’t end until late at night.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all. I love the farm, I love the garden, I love preserving… basically I love it all. I also love at least the idea of enjoying the simple pleasures of summer as portrayed in many a movie and romantic book. I just don’t know how some folks manage to actually work these things in.

 

On the other hand, I have always said that even bad situations can be blessings in disguise. This was proven just a couple days ago.

I am one of the very lucky ones in this country to live near a small town that has their own electric supply, the Village of Union City. There was a major malfunction that put everyone in the town and surrounding areas that receives their power from Union City without power for about nine hours. Miraculously, this is one of the longest stretches that we have been without electricity. Our small town is so efficient about getting it back on. However, this was only a temporary fix. A few days later, the  power would be out for a little over 12 hours.

Unlike a storm that will occasionally put us without power for a couple hours, this caught us completely off guard. Whatever we were doing, came to a standstill. We had no water (when you have your own well in the country and depend on a pump, when there is no electricity, there is water), no electronic devices and no appliances working.

As much as we knew that the electric crew in town was doing their best to get things fixed, it was frustrating to know that everything that just had to get done, was at a stand still. Produce, ripe in the garden, was just standing there and our outside project that required electric to finish came to a halt.

I found myself complaining about this outage for a day and, at the same time, wondering how our ancestors managed day after day with no power grid. With some ingenuity, we made do. A few buckets of water from the river provided enough for the bowl of the toilet so it would flush. Plans got changed for supper and we grabbed some meat from the freezer and veggies from the garden (some of those that were supposed to go into jars) and put them on the grill. Wet Ones provided our “shower” for the evening before we called it a day.

Then the magic happened. The second day that we were without power for the extended time, we worked at things that we could and took breaks. We didn’t feel the rush because there was no rush. All the things that just had to be done couldn’t get done and that made it all right. Then it got dark and we sat in the candlelight and talked. There were no electronics, no TV, no music, just us two. You know what, it was OK.

The night that we got power back, we didn’t rush to turn on the TV or the laptops. Ron mentioned, “ A night without TV when we could have been watching it, I never thought that would happen.”

Neither did I. May we learned a little something that day.

I was anxious to get things in the canner the next day, not because I had to but because I could. All of those things in summer…or anytime….that we think we have to do aren’t necessities. We choose to make them that way. Those things like planting, gardening, mowing, canning and harvesting aren’t chores that keep us away from the simple pleasures of summer…they are the simple pleasures of summer!

Nope, don’t get me wrong, I am not for going totally off-grid and I don’t choose to be without electric, but there are lessons in every situation, we just have to recognize them.