Sweet summertime has arrived, blowing in with hot intentions.
We have enjoyed a productive springtime here on our farm, with first crop hay made the earliest in my memory: May 12. It was beautiful and abundant.
Last night, as we got home from a fun night at the local ballpark, the scent of freshly-cut second crop hay was incredibly fragrant. It seemed the kind of night we should stay outside and revel in the gift of getting to live here.
I walked up the hill to watch the young flock of sheep grazing so peacefully. When they saw me, they suddenly spooked and ran as one smooth unit as sheep are known to do.
Just two nights earlier, rain came blowing in with what felt like hurricane-force winds. Many in this area lost power even though that wild wind didn’t last all that long. We spent the next morning cleaning up small limbs blown from our aging trees.
This has been a fun year of watching our oldest grandson continue to improve and thrive in baseball. Only 8 years old, he shows skills beyond his years and twice was called up to play with the 10-year-olds.
Baseball, more than any other sport, is kind of like life. You only get so many chances to get a step up. Watch the competition and maybe great luck will let you advance when no one expects it. Keep your wits about you as you wait for those in your circle of life to swing for the fences, and they just might bring you full circle.
We had two grandchildren, both 6, playing T-ball, and this is their final year for that level of play. While our granddaughter loved every minute of it, our grandson did not. Not everyone sees joy in hitting a small ball as far as possible, and that’s a good and healthy thing.
In my own childhood, summertime meant more work than ever, but it also meant swimming in the farm pond every chance we got. It meant picnics and good times with cousins.
It meant hot dogs cooked over a fire or fry pies if Aunt Dee had anything to say about it. It also meant the more the merrier, and we all sure were merry!
As the sunshine warms us all, I hope you take the time to remember summers past and make today one filled with glorious times to recall when the cold winds blow.
