Shades of Summer - It's all about the Sun

A metal art sun hanging on my patio.

Summer is only a few days away. Those hot, sultry days languishing in the sun. Feet in the sand and sipping a Tequila Sunrise. Doesn't that sound fabulous?

Well, here on the Florida Gulf Coast it has felt like summer for the last month or more. Hot sunny days, tropical breezes, sugar-white sand and warm Gulf waters. And yet we haven't even reached the official start of summer.

A copper sun on the weathered cedar fence.

This morning I got to thinking. What does summer mean to me? Yeah, that sounds just like some grade-school writing assignment. Hmm! I guess summer is all about the sun. A sun so intense you have to wear sunglasses when stepping outside. A sun so hot that shade is a welcome entity.

A sun hidden by vines.

I grew up in Southern California where the sun shines pretty much 365 days per year and where it feels like summer almost every single one of those days. I was always barefoot, except when I had to go to school. When the dismissal bell rang I'd slip off my shoes and run barefoot all the way home.

I had a year-around golden tan back in those sunshiny California days. I practically lived at the beach. I spent hours lazing on a beach towel and consuming one great read after another.







A painted pottery sun on the cedar fence.

Yes, summer for me has always been about the sun. So maybe that's why a variety of suns grace my yard? A metal art sun hangs from the lattice-covered patio. More suns hang on the weathered cedar fencing. I guess you could say I love the sun.

I hope you'll stop back from time to time to read more of my 'Shades of Summer' posts. You won't want to miss the next one about 'Hot Summer Reads.'