Dear friend,
Last night, on the Solstice, my friend Colleen cooked me supper and I snapped this photo. Her home...her little second-story kitchen...is exactly where you want to be on a muggy Southern summer night, quietly collecting your thoughts as the steam rises from the street below. Drinking icy white wine from cut crystal glasses and watching the sunset outside her windows melt into star-speckled darkness.
In south Alabama, where I grew up, stepping outside between June and September is pretty much the equivalent of taking a hot bath, but I love it. It's not that different here. It's messy and unbearable, but also pure magic if you can find the mystery and romance in it all. And there are fireflies.
What is summer like where you live?
Love,
Rebekka
39 comments:
I just love how you write, Rebekka! That photo up there is love <3 Gosh, your summer seems so enjoyable and I am so jealous right now. My summer has ended last week, hope you're having fun with yours! xx
summer in virginia with my kids means finding water every afternoon... somewhere! local creeks, lakes, and the new river. solstice meant root beer floats and firefly catching (along with observations and learning about them..)!
Here in Poland, summer has become irritatingly unpredictable. They say it's because of global warming. It's either extremely hot and dry (crops die, forests burn) or cold and trainy (like today, yesterday and a few days before yesterday). Sure, there is charm to it, but when I was younger (oh, the lovely "when_I_was_younger_the_world_was_different" mode! ;P ), you at least knew what to expect ;)
Today it's around 65 F and rainy :)
oh what a setting you describe rebekka! i can almost feel it...the muggy warmth...as i sit here in england on a wet windy june day. funny weather island. your words are magic and the perfect tonic for someone in socks and sandals this summer. i stumbled on your blog this week and am so happy i did. i'd love to find the time to read it right from the beginning! best wishes to you and cheers (icy white wine sounds wonderful) x kelly.
Up here in Iceland we celebrated the Solstice yesterday. The sun never sets these days, I woke up at 4am the other night and the sun was high up above the mountains, filling the room with sunshine. It's lovely really, but always surreal to me, and still surprises me even though I've lived here most my life!
Love your blog Rebekka, Happy Summer!
Hmmmm wet? Sunny? today very windy. Ahhh the unpredictable british weather.....
I get a slight tinge of envy reading about these hot summers on other peoples blog. however i do love england and it's 'green and pleasant land' so for now i remain fingers crossed that the sun comes back soon!
enjoy the rest of your summer :)
Summers where I live are mostly wet! It rains almost every summer...
In Vermont we mostly have warm days (some rainy and others sunny) and cool nights with campfires and s'mores. My family loves to go camping by Lake Champlain to truly enjoy Vermont. Peaceful.
You said that so well...
Summers in Muskoka...
Evergreens, blue lakes, cotton candy sunsets, blueberries, dragonflies, corn on the cob, watermelon, daisies and loons...can't forget the loons.
I love summer in Muskoka...been enjoying it my whole life.
Happy Summer Rebekka! My little artist has her grade 8 graduation today!
Sarah, the summer here in England is non existant! I have a vest on, 2 pairs of socks, a fat, warm cat on my lap and the heating's on. Rebekka reading your posts warms my heart though x
In Georgia we too have the hot and muggy unbearableness of summer, but at the same time it is a very fun and free time for everyone! And sweet tea makes everything better :)
Brooke
I just love the mystery and romance of our hot summers. Waterfalls and picnic tomorrow! More magic!
Summer in Seattle is a time to experience it all at once. Rain, sunshine, heat, cool air... could happen all in the same day.
Lots of beautiful crisp light, especially LOVE going to Napa valley in the summer time, because of that light and all the beautiful rolling hills. Some people like to go to the beach, I love the wine country in the summer!
Dry heat here though.
Such a perfect picture of summer you've created. Summer here in AZ is, well, less poetic, ha! It's unbearably hot at best for three months. I'm from a small beach town in West Michigan, and summer there is perfect. From the distant sound of an outboard motor, to the smell of the lake mingled with the wafts of sunscreen and beach-stand hot dogs, summer there is something that will live in my memory forever. Bike rides to the pier, swimming in the cool lake, trips to our favorite ice cream shop, and wicked summer storms. Those are things I associate with summer. Thank you for inspiring me to re-live it for a bit!
This sounds gorgeous! Summer here (In Cornwall UK) is busy & touristy but there are places only locals know, secluded beaches that you have to climb over rocks to get to, so it can be pretty idealic when you can get away from the holiday makers! xx
Sounds amazing that extreme heat! Being surrounded by water it stays pretty mild all summer. Warm days and then cool summer nights. But the evening light is my favorite. Happy Summer Rebekka!
Well, living in Britain, Summer is more than a little on the wet side.
Thank you for yet another lovely post, I love your blog.
Viki x
P.s If you hear the sound of hammering, it's just the people of Britain building another ark...
I live in Fort Rucker, AL. Just moved here in February. I'm from Indiana and the summers (from what I hear) are pretty similar to the summers in Alabama. :)
Don't you just love these dog days of summer? As hot and uncomfortable as they can sometimes be, there's also a certain magic to them as well!
I love the way you describe Southern summer. Being from the west coast I've never experienced it. But we currently live in Arizona. The Phoenix heat is like opening an oven, hot and dry.
i live in florida, so it's very similar to the summers in south alabama, that you've described. personally, i'm not a big fan of humidity and unbearable heat. however, april and may are my favorite months. the days are warm, the ocean is refreshing and the nights are cool. perfection to me.
enjoy your weekend!
Summers in the Arctic are 'warm' and bright!
The sun barely dips below the horizon on these long days so it's a rather unique experience to be able to read on your porch without artificial light at 3am. There's no need to 'party until the sun comes up' because it never really goes down. Mosquitos and blackflies disappear around the end of June which leaves two solid months to plan adventures and explore...
13 degrees F/22 degrees C, breezy and sunny in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
What fun Rebekka! I really enjoyed reading not only your poetic description of summer, but also the comments from around the world.
I have not quite figured out the weather in the Portland, OR area. After many days of clouds and rain the first two days of summer were full of warmth and sunshine...but today we are back to rain and cool temperatures and I am sitting here in socks, slacks, turtleneck and sweater with a flannel blanket ready to grab and our heater just came on!
I am still chuckling about Viki's comment to you and might add that if you hear hammering it may also be coming from the Portland, OR, area as we help our British friends build another ark :)
Gracie<3
Rain, rain and more rain.....a typical British summer.
Very jealous of you enjoying a proper summer.
Fleur xx
Grayseasailor: haha! So cute :)
Cute picture!
*Sheinside giveaway on my blog!*
i love that exact, distinct feeling of a muggy summer you capture. your way with words -- it floors me every single time.
congrats you too! to many many more happy years.
How adorable is this kitchen?! like a dream. i am in love with your writing.
You've just described my most perfect summer weather--I love it when it's sultry, which happens about a total of three times in a year here in my NY neighborhood. I just want to sit on the porch with a tall sweaty glass of lemonade and fan myself. Lovely, lovely, lovely. My mama's people are from Alabama, and I sometimes feel out of place here in the North, at least weather-wise. This year we are miraculously having a lot of fireflies, a real anomaly where I live.
Looks lovely! Here in Sweden we just celebrated Midsummer - the lightest night of the year.
http://theas-vintage.blogspot.se/
Arizona. It is absolutely miserable :) But plenty of time for daydreaming!
what a beautiful photo.
for us summers in southern ontario revolve around the lake and the porch. lots of hunting for beach glass and chasing lightning bugs (of course). and outdoor music. it gets pretty muggy here too.
Sounds very similar to a North Queensland (Australia) summer... although no pretty fireflies for us I'm afraid.
With the humidity comes that hazy golden light... I think that's the magic right there.
My Dad recently brought a property in Nashville and left last week to spend 18 months in your city. He mentioned the fireflies too!
Loving your beautiful blog xx
Summer in Cyprus is wickedly hot but absolutely beautiful at the same time. People disappear for months at a time,escaping to the mountains or seaside for a bit of relief. This is our first summer here and I'm still not entirely sure how to handle the hot but I'm loving the evenings and nights when everyone comes out of hiding and wander the streets. It's pure magic to see how different the city can be under the cover of darkness.
Right now in Pennsylvania-crisp nights, puffy clouds, fireflies, doggies at the farmers market, sandboxes, cookbooks from the library, red toenails, breezy.
Summer has just arrived in the western part of Norway. When I say "summer", you should probably think "very early spring" to get the picture. If we are lucky (like today), we have sunny weather with a breeze, and the temperature is about 20*C, which my convertor tells me equals 68*F. It's not very messy, but we're all so happy =)
Oh, and please tell Colleen that I love her cooker with the turquoise pan and the pretty towel!
Summer's hot where I live - South Carolina. My children are older now, but my strongest summer memories are of the early years with them. We were on the go a lot - to the beach, the playground, now and then a pool. But some of the best days were what we called stay home days - I got caught up around the house and they created huge elaborate games of make believe from retelling the tale of St. George and the Dragon to a homemade time machine. As much as I love the outdoors, sometimes the cool indoors can speak summer to me as well.
Post a Comment