And I’m not talking about the usual “Oh I had so much fun, how did it go by so fast” kind of thing.
I mean where did they take it when they stole it?
Summer does not even end on Labor Day which is when they traditionally wanted us to stop wearing white, feeling relaxed, and having fun.
It doesn’t end until September 22. So what do they all think they’re doing?
Now, you can’t even find white pants in stores (or any other Summer attire for that matter) after July 1, and kids go back to school by mid August or earlier. Who did that, and who told them they could do that??
I still have flowers and bees in my garden and I am not going along with this baloney. I am so tired of how we Americans CANNOT seem to enjoy the moment – any moment. We are always rushing headlong to the next thing, be it a season, a holiday or even a thought, we don’t give enough attention to any of it.
Christmas decorations are taking over craft stores and have been for a month. They don’t even have time to finish jamming Halloween down our throats before the gourds turn to turkeys and the stress of  Thanksgiving is upon us.
We are pawns of marketing and consumption, and we are the only ones who can put an end to it. Just don’t do it. Don’t buy the Winter clothes in July. Don’t think you have to get things to make your Halloween decorations in August. Black and orange crepe paper is always around – just doesn’t have a pumpkin sign on it the rest of the year. Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday without having to think about getting up at 4am the next day to get to that pre-dawn sale for Holiday shopping. Good Grief!
Just say no. Go to Lowes (where they still think it’s Summer too) and buy a few fresh plants for your planters. Don’t just sit around and let everything go brown because it’s “over”. The first frost is still at least a month away. Visit the local nursery and get some perennials to plant for next year. I had DH out there turning ground with a pitchfork all day yesterday – making a home for for my new Coreopsis friends.
I love Coreopsis! It is hardy, easy, tolerant of everything, and flowers non-stop until frost. Zone 3 and up and just about any humidity. What’s not to love? Usually yellow but I even found some Pink and Red.
New beginnings (planting something) feel so good in this “nonsense-season” when everyone seems to think they should be shutting everything down and getting ready for the long, hard Winter. Bah humbug.
After you plant your new perennials, get a nice Summery glass of lemonade and sit and look at your flowers. Savor this extra three weeks of Summer. Just don’t let them take it from you!
And I’m wearing my white capris too! So there!
Posted by Jessica
number of view: 10
I think you need to get a glass of wine, sit out with your new floral friends and enjoy the summer til the end.
Then grap your hat and go get your fall plantings, cut back the basil for pesto, dry the other herbs, plant your spring blubs and say I enjoyed it all til the last was gone.
My garden was just starting to look a little bit tired (even though I’m spoiled with California weather), so I visited Orchard Supply this weekend for their Labor Day sale, which I missed because it was on Saturday ONLY. What? Anyway, I spent very little and got a lot of new color to squeeze into the spaces where the blah was showing. Thanks for the tips, Jess. I feel like I just extended my summer by refreshing my garden.
I too deliberately trot out my whitest of white clothing and proudly wear them after Labor Day. Noting changes so dramatically weather-wise that we need to suddenly give up light-reflecting white clothing in order to don deeper colors. In fact, should we ever get real summer weather instead of the rain and cold we’ve tolerated all summer, donning white makes great sense!
I love all the different coreopsis – they form the backbone of my front yard garden, peeking out from ornamental grasses and orange-y echinacea.
As for giving up and calling it fall just because of some arbitrary national holiday – forget it. The weather does not read the calenders we lesser mortals go by – and as long as we’re not plummeting to temperatures at frost level or blow, I call it gardening season!
I so agree Even here in Michigan, my roses bloom into November. I hate rushing the seasons and yes Christmas stuff is already in the stores. I wear white year around–my choice
I don’t know who “they” are but they must be mighty powerful because they’ve stolen our summer in Australia too. And our winter too, for that matter! I tried to buy some woolen slacks in June (the beginning of the southern winter and was told thay’d already been moved out to make way for the spring and summer ranges. Good grief!!
As for summer, our schools used to break up at least two weeks before Christmas and not resume until the first week of February at the earliest. Now we’re lucky if the kids get out three days before Christmas, and they start back in the last week of January.
What’s more, because we don’t really celebrate Hallowe’en here, and don’t have a Thanksgiving holiday, Christmas decorations are already appearing in stores in August. And Easter eggs are ont the shelves in the week after Christmas.
So I don’t know who “they” are, but I think we’d better find them and get back all our time and seasons – and fast!!
Amen to this! It freaks me out to walk into my art/craft store and see Christmas stuff. By the time Christmas actually gets here, I’m sick of it!… and I wear white whenever I want
and this whole blog idea is wonderful!!!!
Here here!!! Wonderful post! And I love those red coreopsis……….gonna have to get some!
It seems to me for the last couple of weeks that Mom Nature has hidden summer from us. It is sure cool here now and the skies are autumn skies and the air smells of fall. Yes I think she is trying harder than ever to get us to listen and respond. We humans do need to change our ways and our attitudes. She is telling us to live more in the momment with more thoughtful respectful actions and attitudes toward her, our earth and all living things.
Thanks! Living in the moment and in harmony with nature brings us so many good things. I too love coreopsis, their color, sturdiness and sassiness. Alas, summer skipped my area of the coast. And summer plants in the stores disappeared in July. To renew my garden now I have to drive 90 miles. I love this new website and look forward to all your Garden Grace!
Unfortunately we had our first light frost two nights ago. My tomato is now hanging in my Garden Room, and the blankets are out for covering flowers. It’s bound to get warm again! But for now, I’m wearing a jacket and enjoying a glass of wine by my pond as long as there’s a bit of summer to enjoy!
Thanks for Wisdom Woman — it should be fun!
I hear you! I love this photo! Its really beautiful!
I completely agree with you, its the same here in the UK, we are at last having a few warm days and shops are full of woollies and winter coats, Halloween and even Christmas cards! I love this new blog, thank you.
…and if you get catalogs, the summery things will be on sale and you can wear white until you can’t be seen in the snow. Who says I can’t?
here in sacramento, it was 102 today…so i don’t think summer is gone! lol! i was shocked to see christmas stuff in a big box store already and all the winter clothes in the mall! i can’t imagine even TRYING ON those clothes when it’s this hot!
my garden is looking a bit bedraggled so i think i will go out this weekend and get a little color.
thanks for the smiles!
sandyh
sandyh@comcast.net
My daughter is homeschooling this year for the first time and she is so excited because she can now celebrate things like the first day of Fall or Spring or Winter. She wants to celebrate it all and she’s gathering the crafts and foods so she and her daughters can enjoy each special day. She celebrated summer right past the first day of school with them all swimming in their sort-of-done pool every day it’s still warm. Why DO we rush through everything?