SUMMER IS (FINALLY) HERE!

After a relentless winter and a cold wet spring, hot weather has arrived.

The Early Summer Trifecta-- strawberries, late sunsets, & fireflies!

The longest day of the year 2025 (in terms of hours of daylight) fell on June 20th, a date conveniently within the continuum between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July... a.k.a. Act I of Summer. As pre-Internet schoolchildren, my generation rejoiced in the arrival of June for our liberation from the classroom and the extended outdoor play time. An endless summer seemingly lay before us, even though we'd be back at our desks in eleven weeks.

Our first harbinger of summer was strawberries. In farm country where we were eligible for employment at the age of twelve, we boys busted our tails on hay wagons while our sisters playfully picked strawberries. It didn't seem fair.

One might think of strawberries as Mother Nature's message of pure joy-- red and heart-shaped, they look like love itself; deliciously sweet, yet never too sweet... tangy enough to taste like they are good for you. (They are.) Perhaps best of all, they attain the gastronomic equivalent of eternal life when preserved as jam... a jar of June sunshine to brighten one's breakfast toast on a frigid February morn.

Those late sunsets? Simply a function of astrophysics, the 23.5º tilt of the earth's rotational axis relative to its orbital plane. Without it, every day in a given earthly location would be pretty much the same year 'round-- no seasonal fruit, no autumn foliage... rather boring.

And fireflies?

A few species of flying beetles evolved with the ability to generate a greenish light to attract mates. They are most active in late June, a delight to behold in the post-sunset mist of summer's first swelter. It might not sound like much in the age of instant connectivity and streaming on demand, but their lovely light show has intrigued humans for several millennia.

The best thing about Summer's Opening Act might well be what it DOESN'T entail-- College and NFL Football. Even those of us who keenly follow the game need a break from the constant barrage of pigskin drama-- the point spreads, scores, injury reports, suspensions, arrests, possible trades, and more. The NFL Draft, which draws more attention than the freaking playoffs in other major sports, concluded on April 26th, barely eight weeks ago. Preseason training camps will open in mid-July... barely six weeks from NOW.

In the all-too-brief interim, let us pause to enjoy the strawberries and the late sunsets and the fireflies.

NOTES:

This essay is an updated version of a similar essay that appeared last year at this time. We've added more information and details.

If ACT I of SUMMER were to have an official snack, it might well be the S'MORE-- a sweet pseudo-sandwich of graham crackers, melting Hershey's chocolate, and a properly toasted marshmallow. See recipe HERE.

Likewise, the proper wine to accompany summer's first swelter would likely be your favorite rosé... the perfect sipper when it's too hot and muggy to enjoy serious wine as we know it. Click HERE for our recent take on the topic.