From Where I Sit

By Pat (Deck) Spilset

Delicious summertime…time to open the windows, slather on sunscreen, get into the garden and slap those pesky mosquitoes. Time for iced tea, watermelon, burgers, beer and brats, cole slaw and salads.  After our crazy spring weather of storms, tornadoes and ominous gray skies, we deserve a sun-soaked summer!

Sitting out on the deck overlooking the lake, I’m enjoying the gentle breeze and warm temperatures. Today fishermen are floating on the lake relaxing and casting, hoping to land the BIG one. A pair of loons is calling to me in their haunting voices. After a miserable wet and cold spring, finally, summer has arrived. Neighbors are carrying dock sections and pounding poles to hold docks on the lake; others are digging in gardens clearing away dried leaves, plants and sticks.

Now the work begins: mowing, weeding, planting… Aching bodies will be abundant. Every spring I vow to plow up sections of gardens, but blooming peonies, tulips and iris tempt me to continue weeding. I love picking bouquets of colorful blooms to brighten my days.

Numerous boats are cruising the bay where we live. Who doesn’t enjoy being back on the lake? I’m cleaning off dusty lawn furniture, and bringing my overgrown, leggy geraniums outside where they’ll continue to bloom on the deck. These sturdy, tough plants have been blooming all winter for many years in our windows facing west and south.

Some folks may consider me to be old fashioned, but I love hanging sheets on the clothesline to dry. I revel in the fresh smell they produce when I crawl into bed at night. Hot sunshine is supposed to boost temperatures into the eighties this week. Daffodils, tulips and crocus are blooming; peonies are budding and I’m picking rhubarb to bake an upside down cake. Neighbors are cleaning off their grills, ready to fry burgers and brats. Salads will be on the menu every day; casseroles and roasts will be forgotten until fall’s temperatures plummet. 

And so it begins. Summertime on the water is the best season of the year in Minnesota. Kids are ready for school to be done. They want to ride bikes, swim and play ball, get in the boat and cruise the water. Barbecues are fired up. Hot dogs, burgers, watermelon and corn on the cob will have us drooling for more. Who can get enough of summer picnics?

We’re late this year to get our dock in, but by Memorial Day most of us living on the water have our docks in and boats launched. A few kids are water-skiing and diving off lily pads. A few are water-skiing and riding their jet skis, braving the lake’s 58 degree temps. Whatever the weather, it won’t stop people from gathering and getting out on the lake to start enjoying summer on the water. 

There’s a freedom about summer that doesn’t exist in the same intensity as any other time of the year. However, remember…we live in Minnesota where the weather can abruptly change from blistering hot and humid days to furnace firing weather. Already we’ve had 90 degree days and 48 degree nights. Summertime, with the double mm’s, makes me feel happy. Sunny days bring smiles to everyone’s faces.

As I relax with my coffee and newspaper on the deck in the early morning silence, I can hear the drone of a boat motor on the lake   Whether I rise at 5 or 6 a.m., I never seem to beat fishermen floating in their boat on Carmen’s Bay. Cardinals and nuthatches flit around the bird feeder, and bunnies are hiding under our deck and in the woods. A fat squirrel has begun attacking our bird feeder, chasing the cardinals, blue jays and orioles away. He’s so aggressive: he jumps from the roof of our house onto the feeder, often falling to the ground. More squirrels are hiding in the pines and flying through the maples. Our yard gets rather noisy with nature’s activity! Unfortunately, summer brings plenty of bugs. Scratching and itching, I hope no ticks are feasting on my skin. I have to warn the grandkids about wood tics!

Dave and I are excited to have our own granddaughters, Ellie, Charli and Max Margaret come visit us at the lake: all three girls love jumping into the lake and riding in Grandpa’s pontoon. Today they’re running and hiding in the woods among the trees and tall grasses. What fabulous imaginations they have. Life’s a huge adventure, filled with wonder for these cousins playing together.  What a delight to see them racing after each other, laughing with glee!

It’s summertime! Living is supposed to be easy,  a place where time stands still and childhood breaks free from inside all of us.