The Stages of Summer

Stage One: Dandelion Season. Sometime mid-May around here dandelions take over. They are what tells me summer is on. This period runs through May and into early June. Then for whatever reason, the dandelions die down. Not many wildflowers are out though. It is the time where I am trying to be okay with school being out and the patio being open at work and the summer starting in earnest.

Stage Two: Mosquito Season. I really try to enjoy summer before mosquito season starts up. It seems like suddenly one day mosquitoes are everywhere. I hate the little pests. However, this is also the time where things get going in the garden, so that is exciting. But I call it mosquito season because it's when I realize that summer is definitely here and there are some things to get used to. It takes me until Midsummer, June 21st or so to really get my groove of summer.

Stage Three: Hollyhock Season. Around the fourth of the July things in the garden and the flowerbed really start going. The hollyhocks and shasta daisies are finally in bloom or almost there. It's when the garden has started producing tomatoes and zuchinni, the corn stalks are getting pretty high. It's also the time when I start either adoring the endless summer or despising it. It's funny because it goes either way in July. There are some July months that have been horrendous, some that have been delightful. The key has been me having a plan going into the month on what I am going to do to make it awesome.

Stage Four: Wildflower Season. Truth be told, wildflowers are around starting in June. But in late July all my favorites come out, namely Queen Anne's lace, Black-eyed susan's, and golden rod. There are always the signs in summer that no, this isn't going to last forever, so you had better enjoy it while it is here. I set out one morning every late July to just go wildflower hunting. Over the years I have gotten better at identifying them and discerning what they are telling me about how much summer is left.

Stage Five: School is Almost Back. School supplies go on sale in July, just after Independence Day, but somewhere in the second week of August, it really feels like fall is coming. There is always a time around then where you see a yellow leaf and you wonder, dying leaf or is the tree starting to turn colors for fall. THe timing of it is why I start looking for signs of fall around August 1st.