Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as writing The earth laughs in flowers. If that is the case, my little corner of the Concord River is a raucous riot of laughter.

My gardens are a blaze with color to welcome the first day of summer. Litha. A time of celebration for the abundance that is Mother Nature.

Have you ever wondered what each summertime flower means? What you’re saying when you give the one you love a bunch of posies? Here’s some meanings to help get you going: Dianthus: pure affection; Lavender: devotions; Pansies: loving thoughts; Violets: faithfulness; Red Salvia: esteem; Red Roses: I’ve got the hots for you!

Some people find the first day of summer a day for sadness. After all, the days begin to shorten from this point on as winter turns over in his sleep and dreams of snowstorms and icicles.

Slate-colored Junco wondering when the heck summer would arrive.

But Old Man Winter isn’t my concern right now for today is a day for celebration. A time to bask in the light. As the grasshopper knew, summertime is a time for making music.

Aesop’s fable about the Ants and the Grasshopper teaches us a valuable lesson: There’s a time for work and a time for play.

When I was a young girl I didn’t get the message about work and play. I took Aesop’s fable to mean our friends will turn their backs on us when we need them the most. This interpretation goes a long way in explaining my philia relationships.

Here’s the full fable. You be the judge.

The Ants & the Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

“What!” cried the Ants in surprise, “haven’t you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?”

“I didn’t have time to store up any food,” whined the Grasshopper; “I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone.”

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

“Making music, were you?” they cried. “Very well; now dance!” And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

Reprinted with permission from the Library of Congress. http://read.gov/aesop/052.html

My Great Blue Heron isn’t sitting on her tail feathers and fiddling in the sunshine. She’s busy doing what she must to survive, and doing a bang-up job of it, too.

Sorry for the shaky camera work; pretend you’re watching a John Wick movie.

A blog post about summer wouldn’t be complete without a recipe for Caprese Salad.

Italians certainly know how to savor the flavors of summer.

As you enjoy your salad I hope you’ll take some time to thank the earth for her beauty. No matter where you live, city or country, in an apartment building or on a farm, there is beauty all around you.

Sometimes all you have to do is look straight ahead.

Other times you need to look up.

Wherever you look, take a moment and pause. Summertime is here, and the living is so, so easy.

Blessed be :}

Hey, it’s my blog and I can advertise my book all I want. 😉