Summer Memories

This week's topic is Summer Memories, so let’s see…

First off, I should say that I’m not really a summer kinda girl. I’m all about spring and autumn. Mostly, I just hate hot, humid weather, and here, in Michigan, that happens pretty regularly. However, I’ve always loved when my kids were home on summer break or when I was on summer break.

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time outside – true, some of it was spent reading outside, but I was still out there. I read the Witch of Blackbird Pond repeatedly – and then, I’d pretend to be Kit Tyler while playing by the pond at my Grandma’s house. Of course, I also had to help haul hay, work in the garden and shovel shit out of the gutters in the barn. I was so excited when they got the automated gutter cleaner. I also had to wash cow tails and comb the shit out of them. Cows are incredibly sweet animals, but damn messy. 

(This picture is in no way cow related, but I thought it was cute. And summery.)

I spent time with my other Grandma and Grandpa, too. Much of that was spent picking strawberries. And rhubarb. And sometimes blackberries. But there was also an old plum tree that I liked to climb. Sometimes, I’d hang out there and read.  And when I’d spend the night, I’d fall asleep to the sound of my Grandma knitting. That’s still the most soothing sound in the world to me.

One of my favorite things was when my mom would take us to swim in this pond. I can’t remember the name of it, but the bottom was all clay, and I’d dig in the clay and make bowls and little sculptures and pretend that I was a Native American princess. Of course, this being the 70s, that term wasn’t really in use much. But I sometimes wonder if that’s where my love of pottery comes from. I’m always so happy to be wrist-deep in clay and sculpting.

When my brother and I weren’t fighting, we’d often drag the blankets outside and make a fort – or just as often a ship or a spaceship under the picnic table. But…we’d usually end up fighting and there would be tears and recriminations. 

And lastly, I remember going up to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for a week every year with my Dad and Grandma. The trips started after my parents got divorced and continued through my teen years. It was mostly fishing and walks in the woods with an occasional trip to Lake Superior, but that’s when I fell in love with the U.P. (Please note, in this photo I was holding a pencil...not a fishing pole. I used to sit in the boat and draw or write. Okay, sometimes, I'd fish. But mostly, I'd just draw and write.)

These are some of my favorite memories—what are yours? Be sure to click the names to see the summer memories of the rest of the Random Wednesday bloggers!

Jess
Gwen
Kris