Some summer thoughts...
Summer arrived in the Shenandoah Valley tonight. Yeah, I know it's not summer until June 21, but by my standards, summer is here when you can go outside in shorts at 9 p.m., jump in the car, drive through town with the windows down and still be kind of warm.
I was on my way to Food Lion tonight, and the deep smell of honeysuckle wafted over Route 11 for the mile or so between home and the store. Given the nature of today's events, it was a nice indicator that better times are always just around the corner.
Summer here isn't like summer back in Tennessee. True, there is a haze that hangs over the mountains all summer, and there's the odd day where the heat and humidity makes you flee indoors to air conditioning, or strip off more clothes than you'd ever think about in cooler weather.
But this valley comes alive during summer. It doesn't bed down or crawl under a rock until September like some hotter locales do.
During the day, it's chaotic. Bikers, mostly federal employees and baby boomers who need a hobby, run up and down the valley on motorcycles the can't afford, while cars, dune buggies, trucks and SUVs all run up and down the byways, windows down, passengers taking in the sweet air of summer and the sound of a finely-tuned exhaust — or a muffler that won't pass inspection come fall.
The ice cream, excuse me, custard, stands open, and kids show off how they can ride a bike with one hand while eating a soft serve cone at the same time. Everyone flocks to the pool, where young and old, fat and thin, tan and pale, all angle for that nice patch of lawn close enough to the diving boards to keep from burning their feet, but not so close as to get trampled by the horde of kids making their way to the snack bar.
Then there are the quiet times, like tonight. Thunder rumbles in the distance, but you can still see the stars hanging high over the Alleghenies and Blue Ridge, while the moon casts its pale glow over the valley. The evening dove calls, and somewhere a backyard campfire throws off smoke that spices the night air with a scent of pine.
Kids are playing in yards, under streetlights and porchlights, while parents watch from the porch.
Summer is here again. And not a moment too soon.
I was on my way to Food Lion tonight, and the deep smell of honeysuckle wafted over Route 11 for the mile or so between home and the store. Given the nature of today's events, it was a nice indicator that better times are always just around the corner.
Summer here isn't like summer back in Tennessee. True, there is a haze that hangs over the mountains all summer, and there's the odd day where the heat and humidity makes you flee indoors to air conditioning, or strip off more clothes than you'd ever think about in cooler weather.
But this valley comes alive during summer. It doesn't bed down or crawl under a rock until September like some hotter locales do.
During the day, it's chaotic. Bikers, mostly federal employees and baby boomers who need a hobby, run up and down the valley on motorcycles the can't afford, while cars, dune buggies, trucks and SUVs all run up and down the byways, windows down, passengers taking in the sweet air of summer and the sound of a finely-tuned exhaust — or a muffler that won't pass inspection come fall.
The ice cream, excuse me, custard, stands open, and kids show off how they can ride a bike with one hand while eating a soft serve cone at the same time. Everyone flocks to the pool, where young and old, fat and thin, tan and pale, all angle for that nice patch of lawn close enough to the diving boards to keep from burning their feet, but not so close as to get trampled by the horde of kids making their way to the snack bar.
Then there are the quiet times, like tonight. Thunder rumbles in the distance, but you can still see the stars hanging high over the Alleghenies and Blue Ridge, while the moon casts its pale glow over the valley. The evening dove calls, and somewhere a backyard campfire throws off smoke that spices the night air with a scent of pine.
Kids are playing in yards, under streetlights and porchlights, while parents watch from the porch.
Summer is here again. And not a moment too soon.
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