Recent quotes: “There is no place as beautiful as WI in the summer.” “I love WI in the summer.” “Wisconsin is so beautiful in the summer.” Now, of course, I could have been the source of these quotes and there would be nothing remarkable about them. These quotes, however, come from my three Puerto Rican men, ages 56, 25 and 22.
What makes WI so beautiful in the summer? It certainly could be the brilliant blue sky. The sky is as dazzlingly blue in the summer as it is in the winter, only the temperature changes. Usually by at least 80 degrees.
It could be the abundance of water, and the Wisconsonian tendency to get out onto it or into it in the summer. All that water reflects the blue sky, beautiful in and of itself, but when the shoreline (be it river, pond or lake) is decorated in green, dotted with yellow and blue flowers, it is hard to resist. The plethora of cars and trucks towing boats on the highway on the weekends, or the steady stream of boats past my windows in Milwaukee on the Kinnickinnic River is a testament to the call of the water.
But natural beauty aside, there is the festive nature of Wisconsin in the summertime. People are outside. The whole state turns inside out. The parks are as full as the lakes; the sidewalks are thoroughfares for the walking as well as the wheeled; picnicking, canoeing, horseback riding, waterskiing, baseball (watching and playing), hiking, camping, and the list goes on. Gerry says that since the summer is short, everyone tries to make the most of it. He could be right. Festive has additional meaning for us here in the Third Ward of Milwaukee – the Summerfest grounds are a short walk away. In addition to the “largest musical festival in the world” (according the Guinness Book of World Records date unknown…), the Summerfest grounds host festivals all summer long. Pick your ethnicity or just go to them all!
I think, though, that the beauty of Wisconsin in the summer is also the memories: Memories of summer camp, of lifelong friends, of being a carefree child with no school and no routine. Summer in WI evokes images of Up North (northern WI) where I, and now my sons and husband too, spend an important portion of the summer. Then there are the long walks at the farm, watching birds and turtles, fishing, swimming. The chirping of the crickets on a hot day, the bullfrogs at night, and the early morning songs of forest birds serve as the only clock you need. And warm summer nights, outside by a camp fire or snuggled in a sleeping bag, stars overhead (mosquitoes buzzing, unfortunately), all are the stuff of winter dreams.
“Have you ever watched a campfire when the wood has fallen low, and the ashes start to whiten ‘round the embers crimson glow? With the night sounds all around you making silence doubly sweet and the full moon high above you that the spell may be complete? Tell me, were you ever nearer to the land of heart’s desire, than when you sat there thinking with your feet before the fire?” (My favorite Camp Osoha song.)
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