Importance of Summer

Queen Anne's Lace by Ken Moore

As temperatures approach three figures (Fahrenheit thank goodness) and mid-summer approaches, we look to the ibiblio collections for some relief.

At the archives of the Carrboro Citizen from 2007, Kirk Ross reminds us somewhat poetically of the importance of summer:

The heat is bearing down already and those afternoon showers that truly deserve the name “cloudbursts” are beginning to roll ‘round to slick up the streets and coat the pavement with a low-hanging layer of steam.

This is when we can remind ourselves as well as show the youngsters around us that play is every bit a part of our nature as toil and a good bit more agreeable.

This is the time to remember that a vacation is not an itinerary or a to-do list, but an invitation to step outside of convention and routine — a chance to explore something you never knew would interest you or learn something without even trying.

Roger McGuinn plays with the traditional Scottish ballad of summertime, “Wild Mountain Thyme,” by rearranging it to a reggae beat at his Folk Den
Summer references at Project Gutenberg are nearly unending and will fill almost anyone’s summer reading list with variety.

Back where we began, Ken Moore describes the sturdy heat enduring wild white flowers of early summer: Daisy Fleabane, Daucus carota, Elderberry, Erigeron annuus, and Queen Anne’s Lace, Sambucus canadensis. Perhaps we can take a lesson from these flowers and not wilt despite the heat.