Tuesday, July 31, 2012

I Bet You Know the Answer to This

UNFORTUNATELY, WE have to say goodbye to July 2012 now. I've never been terribly fond of goodbyes and this one has its own brand of sadness. It's like driving down a beautiful country road. You've been enjoying the fresh scenery for many days but just up ahead is a mandatory turn. What lies beyond is probably more of the same but it will be drier and a bit crispy. And what else? You're really not sure. The only way to find out is to forge ahead and as much as you'd like to put the breaks on right here, assemble your tent and stay for the long haul, you can't. 

We've officially turned toward the downside of summer. This might be why the end of July can cause me a bit of melancholy. I like summer, especially when the weather is mild like it's been this year. I like being outside and feeling the sun on my shoulders and watching my plants grow and listening to birds sing. The fact that there is another turn up ahead that leads to unfriendly, indoor weather, the imminent dormancy of my plants and the muting of birds makes me sad. 

Saying hello to August is the upside of the goodbye to July. It's a decent replacement, but not a perfect one.  The sun will begin to rise a tiny bit later and creep ever so subtly southward. The Grocery stores and farmers' market shelves will replace my beloved Bing cherries with something else that will undoubtedly be tasty but won't be my Bing cherries. Boo hoo. Life is tough, right? 

This got me to thinking. What's your favorite thing about July? Is it picking flowers from your garden? Eating fresh produce? Vacationing at the beach? A new season of Big Brother? What do you like most about the month of July? And you don't have to be serious. :)  

15 comments:

  1. We love going to the beach every July. We camp at Lakewood campground with our 36 ft fifth wheel, and usually the 3 grand daughters and a few grown children. Love it!

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  2. family birthdays: grand-daughter 12th, grand-son 13th, brother 16th, sister 18th - watermellon, corn on the cob, canoe on the Bay.

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  3. I enjoy the fresh produce shared by kind relatives (we don't have a garden). I can't help it--I'm looking forward to the fall. This has been a very hot summer here, and I'm looking forward to cooler weather. But that won't come in August--it's the dog days of summer.

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  4. To be honest here, my favorite thing about July is when it's over. We still have August and September to go through before we have a hint of cooler weather. The heat and humidity and threat of hurricanes are still with us. But that's part of living down here in tropical s.e. FL.

    Enjoy August in all it's glory.

    FlowerLady

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  5. Wow Grace it is like you read my mind...I was just pondering the same thoughts today...feeling a bit melancholy...I love the garden in July as long as we have had sufficient rain...I need to take more vacation time in July..it is very refreshing!

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  6. Normally I would be so sad to say goodbye to July but Iowa was hit hard by the heat and drought this summer so I can't say I'd want more of this. I am praying for rain.
    But what I love about even a hot, dry July was that it was the prime season for the sweet corn and tomatoes that I get at Farmer's Market. I also have had my daughter and grandson here for the last week of July so that will be so sad to see them go.

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  7. What I like most about July is that it is when I can finally, reliably count on the rain ending. And then, all too soon, it is over and August is here, and the rain is imminent again. I know you like the coolth, but I could do with just about 10 degrees more heat here in the Seattle area. Temps that stay reliably in the 70s are perfect.

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  8. What I love about July is that it's (usually) still good gardening weather. In Iowa, August is usually the time when the high 90's and even an occasional 100 degree F. days appear. Not so this year. We've had weeks of high 90's and hardly any rain at all. Not sure what August will bring... I'm getting a little weary of watering and hoping things will make it through the summer... Does that sound like a complaint? Sorry, Grace. I love July for the Independence day celebrations. Picnics and vacations! Excursions with family and friends. :-)

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  9. July is the best month, thank god it has 31 days! Favorite things In no particular order...my birthday, all the visitors we get this month, blue sky, lack of rain, eating dinner outside, flip flops, knowing there are still 2 months of summer ahead (at least the way I count it), my garden growing, sunshine, sleeping with the windows open, eating tomato-basil-mozzarella salad too often, shall I continue?

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  10. First of all July is right smack in the middle of the girls summer school break. We haven't had enough time to tire of each other yet, lol. July is a great watermelon month, which the girls and I have eaten three in the last two weeks. Unlike you my friend, the end of July does not have us in the south thinking of a cool down 'cause August can be brutal!

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  11. We joke, around here, about summer beginning on the 5th of July. This year it started on the 4th. All of summer stretches before us then: dinners under the cherry trees, croquet on the lawn, taking the canoe out for a spin, lazy hours in the hammock....ah, summer...melting into fall (a pretty good season, too). I'll be ready to come inside to a cozy fire by mid-November.

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  12. Oh goodness, Loree pretty much nailed it. July favs (my birthday), flip flops, 2 more months of good weather ahead, beach trips, sleeping with the windows open and lot's o blooms in my flower gardens :)

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  13. I used to love July because the kids were on school vacation, summer swim season was in full swing with swim meets, bbqs, family nights. Great relaxed fun! Now I love July because I think it could possibly be as relaxed and fun as it used to be. It often falls short, but try try try to carve out the time for r & r.

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  14. You said right that saying hello to August is the upside of the goodbye to July . I like this month because my birthday is in this month only and i like to enjoy fresh produce too..
    :)

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  15. I love July because it's the month my zone 5 gardens finally start to fill in again after waking up in the Spring. The blooms, the fragrance and the abundance of little creatures who call my gardens "home" is amazing.

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