The serendipitous events of this idyllic day combined to produce the most agreeable summer delight which we’re now about to crown with an appropriate late summer dinner – yellow corn on the cob from the local farmer’s roadside stand, baby potatoes and Atlantic salmon cut to order but hours ago by the fishmonger (he having withdrawn the entire carcass from the walk-in refrigerator and gutted and de-boned the piece before our eyes, its severed head displayed on the grey and white granite slab as testimony to its freshness).
“Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done!”
During our mid-morning bike ride along the blue and yellow pathway I whispered there was a hint of autumn in the air, a breath of cool air (though it rapidly mounted to the dry summer heat which has predominated the season). I imagined it wouldn’t be long before we sported sweaters and contemplated frost crystals on the dry grasses in the fields. The dry, refreshing wind propelled us as we flew past the country homes, the sparkling River, down into the basin across the Maclan Bridge and into the still heat of the sheltered roadway that leads home.
For dessert this evening we’ll have sliced peaches. We bought a basket of them two days ago and now they are perfectly ripe! The summer harvest must be indulged when you can! Corn on the cob and salt, pepper and butter! No time for fretting about manners or husks caught between your teeth!
Gradually the sun sets noticeably earlier in the day, no longer an infinite blaze of scorching heat and white light late into the evening. The western sky is decorated with fascinating cloud formations and some baleful grey skies. Perhaps it will pour rain? A summer storm?
The bag boy at the grocery store told me he’s anxious to return to school. Already September is on our minds. So begins the rhetoric about “Where did the summer go!”, never a question, always a punctuation. Where did everything go! A wistful glance back as we prepare for the next round, the next season, the planning of things to come and do.
Meanwhile it’s a splendid summer plate of corn, potatoes and salmon, yellow, white and pink. Peaches as sweet as the weather!