A Reluctant Summer

Reluctant is a real neat word.  It conveys a subtlety to unwillingness to do something.  When one knows that something should be done, and it is the right time to do it, but one is opposed to doing it.  That is exactly what is happening in our neck of the woods with this magical time of the year called summer.  We've already passed the longest day of the year,  June 21st.  The daylight is getting shorter now.  The fourth of July fireworks are beginning to echo across the lake.  But those warm sunshiny days are rare and the spring flowers, ( peonies and irises,)  are just now blooming.  The piers and boats are in the water and ready for sailing and skiing, for canoeing and kayaking.  But instead, the people are tending their landscapes in sweatshirts and raincoats.  They're using their campfires for warmth and heating their cabins and homes at night.  Instead of garden rows bushy and tall, tiny plants are fighting to grow.  Summer teases us with  a day or two near 80 and then sends hail to add a touch of irony. According to our local weatherman, this area has been in drought for the last ten years but this year we're getting caught up and that is very good but we're hoping for some nice steady sunshine to get the garden caught up to its usual splendor.  O, reluctant summer, unloose yourself and smile your sun upon us!