Writing About Signs of Summer

If your June sailed by as fast as mine, you're probably wondering how in the world July just landed on your doorstep.

Friday's post was headed with a photo depicting a sign of summer, a butterfly among some yellow flowers and greenery. 

Saturday, Ken and I went downtown to our Farmer's Market. We strolled by the various tables, some with shade tent tops over them, some in the hot sun. Another sign of summer. 

Then we stopped in at our Dillard's Department Store to check out the extra 30% off of sale merchandise promotion. We didn't buy a thing, but it's one more sign of summer. 

Here's a list of signs of summer to help trigger some inspiration. Look at the list. Is there anything that stops you with a memory floating forth? A short memoir story might evolve from one of these prompts. Choose one and try freewriting or write a story.

SIGNS OF SUMMER:

• Farmer's Market
• Store sales
• watermelon feed
• vegetable garden
• beach
• swimming pool
• sand
• songbirds
• sandals
• shorts
• heat
• humidity
• homemade ice cream
• laundry hung outdoors
• lemonade stands
• baseball games
• cooking on the grill
• potato salad
• bathing suits
• 4th of July
• picnic
• library reading program
• Bible school
• salads
• sweat
• heat stroke
• heat rash
• fans
• canning produce
• garden seeds
• vacation
• boats
• fishing

To finish, here's a poem written long ago on a summer day when my heart was filled with the kind of joy summer brings: 

Summer’s Song

Sing to me of

marshmallow clouds

and rainbow skies,

of baseball games and

ice cream cones,

buttercups and

ladybugs.

Tell me about

white sand beaches

and clear blue lakes,

county fairs and

lemonade stands,

lightning bugs and

thunderstorms.

                                           ---Nancy Julien Kopp (c)2011