Summer – Page 2 – Valerie's Voice

Summer Haikus

My friend and writing companion, Sheri Eichhorn, and I have a lot of fun writing haikus for just about any word. Haiku is a writing pattern of 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Here are a few summer time haikus…I wrote a few and so did Sheri.

Shade from the hot sun
Wonderfully delicious
and very welcomed. (VB)

Bright, sunny flower in a garden in Colorado.

Sparkles in the night
There is magic in the air
Twinkling fireflies. (VB)

Fireflies at night
Blinking in the forest glen
It is enchanting.(VB)

This is a unique card, received from a friend.

Bicycles ask us
to be both the passenger
and provide the fuel. (SE)

Two wheels on a frame
Around and around they go
Bicycles are fun.(VB)

Bicycles never 
run out of fuel until
you climb off the bike. (SE)

And since this is the summer of the pandemic, a few haikus about that…

Pandemic. That word...
it hurts to hear it, it hurts
to know—it lives here. (SE)

Global pandemic
Novel coronavirus
Took us by surprise.(VB)

The distance we’ve come
from normal with this virus
feels too much too far. (SE)

Nine Mile Creek Trail

Last week, on a most beautiful Minnesota summer day, we took our bikes up to Edina and biked on the Nine Mile Creek Trail.

The temperatures were just right for riding, the humidity was low, and the sky was bright blue.

My husband rode on this trail with his bike club last year and found it fascinating. He wanted me to experience it, so off we went.

What set this trail apart from other bike trails is there are lengthy stretches of boardwalk…spanning over the marsh and through the woods with lots of shady areas. It runs along Nine Mile Creek but there are landmarks to remind you that you are in the city…a concrete bridge over Highway 100, a stretch along the back side of Edina High School, and other industrial buildings, shops and businesses…and then the trail bends and once again you’re back in the woods.

There were numerous bridges made from wood and one boardwalk was almost a mile long (.85 miles). The bridges are wider than a normal bike trail which added to the beauty of the trail.

It’s always fun to discover new trails…and this one was very unique. We are grateful for the many bicycle trails in Minnesota.

Mr. Turtle, the only wildlife we saw on the trail.

Summertime

Enjoy the Summer Solstice… today… June 21, 2019.

“On this day the length of time with sunlight is the longest.”*

Here are some excerpts from, A Summer Blessing, from the book entitled The Circle of Life.*

Blessed are you, summer,
season of long days and short nights,
you pour forth light from your golden orb,
energizing the earth and calling forth growth.
 
Blessed are you, summer,
with your generous gift of heat.
Your warm breath animates creation,
encouraging all growing things to stretch towards the sun.
 
Blessed are you, summer,
you call us into playfulness,
encouraging us to pause from work.
You renew our spirits.
 
Blessed are you, sacrament of summer, 
natures’ green season, sweet echo of spring.
You speak to us in living color as you renew the earth 
with symbols of life for our bodies and souls.
 
Blessed are you, summer,
with your firefly evenings
you minister to the child in us.
You feed our hunger for beauty.

* The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp & Macrina Wiederkehr

Summer Solstice

It was my turn to host my book club this month and even though we met a week earlier than the summer solstice (today, June 21) I decided on a summer solstice theme to celebrate the day of the year with the most hours of daylight…something I’ve wanted to throw a party for, for a long time…so I took advantage of my captive audience!

The focus was light, of course, and I used a white lace tablecloth with a center white candle, clear glasses and white plates. I turned on the lights wrapped in the deck fence, and gathered lots of votive candles in clear glass to set around.

The weather was in our favor as it was a beautiful, Minnesota summer evening. We were able to sit on the deck until after dark, and then the mosquitoes joined the party.

I served a dessert with a fruit of summer – strawberries – and for a short time we stopped our discussion and read through “A Summer Prayer” from the book The Circle of Life by Joyce Rupp & Macrrina Wiederkehr. After each section we lit a candle and I placed the candles around the deck. It looked so festive and pretty especially as it got darker. (Celebrating the longest day of the year makes it hard to light up the dark with candles at 7 p.m.!)

Here are excerpts from the prayer:

“May the God of summer give us beauty.”

“May the God of summer give us rest.”

“May the God of summer give us joy.”

“May the God of summer give us inner light.”

“May the God of summer give us what we need for healing.”

“May the God of summer give us a sense of satisfaction in the work of our hands.”

“May the God of summer give us shelter when inner storms threaten our peace of mind and heart.”

“May the God of summer lead us to amazing discoveries as we travel the inner roads of our soul (as well.)”

Thank you fellow book clubbers for indulging me in my first summer solstice party…not to be the last!