Summer is here, I guess. It gets light at ........well, come to think of it, it never really gets totally dark. The sun rises now before 5AM and sets about 11:30PM. We need no lamps lit in the cabin until midnight. The stores and restaurants that closed for winter in Homer are open again. Cruise ships have arrived. Tents and RV's have sprouted on the beach like colorful mushrooms. The Spit is crowded and busy. Boats are coming out of dry dock. The fishermen are doing their thing. Nelson has been fishing numerous times with great success on the Bay catching halibut but not so much success on the rivers trying to get king salmon.
There have been abundant bear sitings reported, but none by us. On the other hand, we see cranes everyday. They have matched up and presumably laid their eggs by now. So funny to watch, they step through the yard like they're tip toeing, afraid of putting their feet in the wrong place. When they come in for a landing their great wings are open wide. They tilt this way and that to position themselves just right. Their long, thread thin legs, normally tucked against their bodies while in flight, are hanging down. They float down out of the sky like they're using a parachute, landing with a great harumph.
The moose are dropping calves here, there and everywhere, including downtown. Apparently, a mama birthed twins by the side of a downtown street snarling traffic recently. We had a calf born at the edge of our yard a week ago. The calf was up and walking about like a drunken partier within seconds. Recently I saw a mama moose crossing the street with her calf in tow. The calf looked all of a minute and a half old. The mama went across in a very no nonsense way, not waiting at all for the calf. The calf, however, was not so sure about this adventure as cars backed up, waiting. The calf wobbled part way onto the road, hesitated, retreated, then started out again. Mom came part way back to offer encouragement then proceeded back to the far side, down into and back out of a ditch and on into the brush. The calf took courage and followed her as fast as it could. When it got to the ditch, it fell in. All I could see was the water splashing, but soon the smart little thing found his feet and a way out of the ditch by walking inside it to the end where it was easier to get out. They have to learn fast. Apparently a mama moose does not baby her babies. She will defend them though. People have to be very careful when near a mama moose.
Certainly one can't determine the presence of summer by the temperatures. Two days ago it was 30 degrees when I got up at 6:00. There was frost on the grass and car, and the plant I had set out was very unhappy. Our daily temperatures have been in the high 40's to somewhere in the 50's with a burst of 60 one day! A local friend told me when she used to go fishing at this time of year there would be ice in the eye holes of her rod. Regardless of the chill the plants have greened completely.
Neither can you determine the season by what people wear here. Tank tops, shorts, sandals, flip flops are on many brave bodies, but jeans and long sleeves prevail. Of course even in winter here, one can see an occasional rebellious soul wearing flip flops or shorts. I have learned not to gape and shake my head. But honestly if you want to wear shorts and tank tops, you just have to do it at your own chosen time because you'll never have to wear them as a solution to the heat.
Oh yes, one more sign of summer. The farmers' market opened Memorial Day weekend and will be open on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays until Oct. At this market you will find all the fresh produce produced here-------radishes, carrots, rhubarb, beets, rhubarb, blueberries, and rhubarb. The beets are the size of ping pong balls and decidedly not sweet. The rhubarb is good though! And the carrots and blueberries are very good. It's a small market.
I flipped the calendar to June; so I know summer is here. With that flip of the calendar comes our one year anniversary living here. Hard to believe. It's been an exciting, fun, blessed, interesting, educational year. We have loved every minute. But flipping the calendar to June also means there's only six more weeks until some of our family comes for a long-awaited visit. The pull of home and family is irresistible. Nelson and I talk daily about all the things we want to show them while they're here. Have you ever noticed that when you love something so much, you want those you love to love the same thing? Can't wait. It's finally summer!
