Signs of summer

They dart around me as I mow my yard! Diving from the air to swoop in closely to the ground to catch their meal of insects stirred up from mowing. It reminds me of my youthful days on the farm: sitting on the puke-green Owatonna 10′ self-propelled mower / swather cutting fields of alfalfa while watching them darting and swooping around me is a delightful summer memory. My childlike imagination sees them flying low to the ground with beaks wide open … sure sign of summer: barn swallows. Ahh … the smell of zucchini; yellow squash; green, red and yellow peppers; onions sizzling in the grilling basket on our gas grill. Generously coated with Tastefully Simple’s “seasoned salt” these are a summer’s delight we enjoy several times a week. Grilled to just the right texture, crisp and tender … mouthwatering and a sure sign of summer: grilled veggies. Close to the ground they fly begging to be noticed at dusk. These little bugs with blinking lights as their tail are a delight to watch as another day comes to a close. The darker it becomes more seem to appear. Lazily they seem to float close to the ground and my soul quiets with no sense of time. These bugs were certainly created for our enjoyment, pleasure and worship. Summer has arrived: fireflies in my backyard. What “signs of summer” are most noticeable to you? For me, signs of summer draw me to Sabbath rest; draw me to Shalom; these signs of summer point me to the Creator: Psalm 104 “How many are you works, Lord!” “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live. May my meditations be pleasing to to him, as I rejoice in the Lord.”