Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
It’s getting to feel a lot like summer.
Days are long as the sun sidles north. At 14 hours and about 52 minutes of daylight, we’re rushing toward the longest days of this year, June 20 and 21, when the sun is with us 14 hours 56 minutes 18 seconds. With all that sun time, skies are blue and clouds shape-changing puffballs — except when thunderstorms clatter through and drench our plans. The vegetable kingdom is in riot, encompassing earth in green. Food is growing in our gardens and swelling in our orchards.
If we are not yet in summer’s kingdom, we’re certainly knocking at the gates.
If you’re a meteorologist, you’re a week into summer’s three-month run of June, July and August.
If you’re a kid or a parent, summer’s upon you, for school is just now out.
If you’re a lunist, June 9’s full moon, the Strawberry Moon, starts your summer at 9:10am. With the moon at its farthest from earth, this is our littlest moon, a mini-moon.
If you’re a solarist, you’ve got a while to go, as the sun stands still on the Solstice, June 21, starting astronomical summer.
If you’re like me, it’s already summer, mostly, for you’ve packed away all warm clothing — but are still fetching blankets and sweatshirts out of storage when fickle spring reminds us it’s not gone yet.
In these early days, we have, mostly, the pleasure of Beach Boy southern California summer, with Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) that seem to promise the world. Later, we’ll surely steam in summer humidity — but for now let’s pretend not.
In that seize-the-day mood, this week brings you our annual special, 101 Ways to Have Fun: Your Indispensible Guide to Summer on the Bay.
We came up with this bright idea back in 1993, four or five issues into our then fortnightly New Bay Times. We packed that first summer guide with 101 Ways to Have Fun, each a short story. Becoming New Bay Times ~ Weekly the next year, we let Summer Guide go dormant a few years. It’s been an annual crowd-pleaser every summer since.
Many Ways revolve around enjoying our region’s natural resources, often two ways, by harvesting them and eating them. Among these: how to catch your own crabs or buy true Bay blues at market … how to cook up your own crab feast or join the world’s largest crab feast … how to catch your own fish and fry it. Other resources, like horseshoe crabs and Chessie, you won’t want to catch or eat, though we tell you how you might see them. One Way even counsels on how to treat a jellyfish sting.
Many more take you on day trips throughout Chesapeake Country, or to particular destinations where our Bay Weekly partners have summer opportunities in store for you.
Among these 101, too, are ways unique to one place or time, from archaeology digs … to Independence Day fireworks and parades … to outdoors concerts for almost every day of summer … to theater under the stars … to festivals like Eastport-a-Rockin’.
Of course our Guide offers fun for all ages, including a set of Ways Not Just for Kids.
All this and more awaits you. The Guide that falls into your lap out of this week’s Bay Weekly is one you’ll want to keep with you all season long. Open it up, see what’s in store and start your summer.
Sandra Olivetti Martin
Editor and publisher
email [email protected], www.sandraolivettimartin.com