On The Cusp Of Summer
As we enter the beginning of Summer, June 20 to be exact, the word has spread that it’s easy pickins’ in our yard for deer of all ages to feast on the bountiful peach tree produce with limbs hanging low to the ground.
Watching them from behind the curtains as they grab the lowest ones first, chewing the peach and gently dropping the stripped seed to the ground.
Later, after the low hanging fruit is gone, do they beckon the young who can jump into the limbs. Yes, it is a sight to see. So glad you enjoy those peaches each year. Again, this year, like many years before, no human will ever get to enjoy a peach from that tree.
Along with Bambi and her gang enjoying the peaches, a flock or two of red birds have been flying back and forth. Some believe that seeing a red bird will give you good luck, some say it carries a message from the departed that they are thinking of you. Both ideas sound good, but personally our red birds come for the bounty of the blackberries. Every day they chirp to their friends, the berries are ready, the berries are ready, as they fly from bush to bush. Yum Yum.
In a couple of weeks, lots of birds will arrive to fill their bellies with blueberries that grow on the edge of our yard. With two wild bushes and two rabbit eye bushes, there’s plenty for everyone except me. When I try to approach the bushes to get a few of the berries, the black birds squawk and threaten. Yes, I tried putting the screens over the bushes and that did not deter them in the least. Smart birds. With our climate and soil, blue berries thrive. And, yes, you’re welcome black birds. Welcome to you all unless you come tapping, tapping at my door, Nevermore.
June is certainly a favorite month for weddings. Maybe because June is named for the Roman goddess, Juno, who protected Roman women and promoted fertility. A few more reasons, the weather is normally not too hot or too cold, plenty of flowers available and dating back to medieval days when bathing was a rarity, this was the time for the yearly bath. Some historians say the tradition of carrying flowers by the bride was to improve the smell. Romance is in the air.
Happy Birthday to the songbird of Alcorn County, Mississippi, George Jobe, Karaoke Extraordinaire, 92 years young.