The Joy of Summer

"Drouse on, soft flowers of quiet afternoons-
The breezes sleep beneath your lulling spell;
In dreamy silence all the garden swoons...."

-John Russell Hayes, 1866-1945
From "The Old- Fashioned Garden"

Thank you yoko.

Night-scented flowers on a
summer evening can bring you
a glow of happiness.

From the book "365 Reasons to be Happy"

Emily Dickinson


A something in a summer’s day,
As slow her flambeaux burn away,
Which solemnizes me.

A something in a summer’s noon,—
An azure depth, a wordless tune,
Transcending ecstasy.

And still within a summer’s night
A something so transporting bright,
I clap my hands to see;

Then veil my too inspecting face,
Lest such a subtle, shimmering grace
Flutter too far for me.

The wizard-fingers never rest,
The purple brook within the breast
Still chafes its narrow bed;

Still rears the East her amber flag,
Guides still the sun along the crag
His caravan of red,

Like flowers that heard the tale of dews,
But never deemed the dripping prize
Awaited their low brows;

Or bees, that thought the summer’s name
Some rumor of delirium
No summer could for them;

Or Arctic creature, dimly stirred
By tropic hint,—some travelled bird
Imported to the wood;

Or wind’s bright signal to the ear,
Making that homely and severe,
Contented, known, before

The heaven unexpected came,
To lives that thought their worshipping
A too presumptuous psalm.

When the lotus opened, I didn't notice and went away empty-handed.

Only now and again do I suddenly sit up from my dreams to smell a strange fragrance.
It comes on the south wind, a vague hint that
makes me ache with longing, like the eager
breath of summer wanting to be completed.
I didn't know what was so near, or that it was mine.

This perfect sweetness blossoming in the depth of my heart.

~Rabindranath Tagore

Two doves upon the selfsame branch,
Two lilies on a single stem,
Two butterflies upon one flower :--
O happy we who look on them.

Who look upon them hand in hand
Flushed in the rosy summer light ;
Who look upon them hand in hand
And never give a thought to night.

Christina Rossetti

From

The Schoolboy

by William Blake (from Songs of Experience, 1794)


I love to rise in a summer morn,
When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the skylark sings with me:
O what sweet company!....

"There’s flowers for you;
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ the sun,
And with him rises weeping; thes are flower
Of middle summer, and I thek they are given
To men of middle age."

William Shakespeare

Summer is officially here.

Enjoy the colours of the flowers, the trees and the wonderful scent of the roses.

Have a good summer everyone.

Love,
Vicky

Thank you for the reminder Vicky.

Summer is really here.
Enjoy your summer everyone.

Love,
Sue



Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Summer is truly here.
Enjoy a walk in the beautiful landscape.

Love, Inda
**********



"There is dew
on these poems in the morning,
and at night a cool breeze may rise from them.

In the winter they are blankets, in the summer a place to swim.

I like talking to you like this. Have you moved
a step closer?

Soon we may be
kissing."
— Kabir

Each Morn a thousand Roses brings, you say:
Yes, but where leaves the Rose of Yesterday?
And this first Summer month that brings the Rose
Shall take Jamshyd and Kaikobád away.

Omar Khayyam

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(Yosa Buson)


How pleasant it is for me
to cross over the summer brook
with sandals in my hand.

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart. ~Celia Thaxter

Summer night ending so soon
while on the river shallows
a sliver of moon remains

Buson

Enjoy the fruits and flowers of summer.
The season is short in this part of the world.
Make the most of it.

Love,
Sue

Summer is here, and it is a hot one.
All the gardens are in bloom. Our season is short, although our warm weather started sooner than usual. Maybe we have an extended summer.

Love,
Vicky

After a very cold winter here, summer is a joy to behold.
Dear friends, have a happy and joy filled summer.

Love,
yoko

Let us enjoy this beautiful summer.