I’m sitting out on our front porch, which is almost de rigur in the country, watching a tree swallows attempt to fit a too large feather into the hole of the birdhouse the swallows claimed months ago. They should have had a nest built and babies there already. Now he, or she, is poking its head out after succeeding in shoving the feather into the hole.
The sun is minutes from setting on this hot, June evening. Clouds of gnats hover and congregate over the tall weeds. The mountain air smells more like cow manure and a tractor just went down the highway. Everyday things in the country. In the field next door is a tractor waiting to cut the long grass tomorrow.
The days have been viciously hot, if you can call the low nineties vicious, but June evenings are magical. When everything is still vibrant green and lush, not dried from the summer baking. The air is filled with the golden flashes of flying insects and there is an ever present sound of birds singing. Or fighting, as I just heard that sound. Crickets abound and mosquitoes are typical.
There is something about this time of year that makes me want to watch certain films that seem to scream summer. Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Paris When It Sizzles, Sabrina, (yes, those are all Audrey Hepburn films), The Seven Year Itch, and old westerns like Once Upon a Time in the West. There’s something kind of sexy about all those films. The Audrey ones are probably my favorite, but I am an Audrey Hepburn fan. For years I was a Marilyn Monroe fan, but since I only like 3 or 4 of her films, and her life wasn’t as admirable, I’ve changed my likes. I adore Audrey Hepburn and I’m in a mood for summer films.
Like films, my music tastes change come summer. I love pulling out Carole King’s Tapestry album because it should only be played in the hot summer months. Or America, Loggins and Messina, Seals and Crofts, and various other bands from the seventies.
And now the sun sets and the air is scented by the hot, spicy scent of pine resins that float down the mountains. I’d love to stay on the porch reading and enjoying my cup of coffee, but I’m sure to be slapping mosquitoes soon, and I can’t bear that. Besides, I spent this time writing out this post in my journal and I’ll need to type it up and post it with the picture I took of a view from the porch. Also, after a day of watering and burning out in the sun, a shower is definitely in order. too bad we don’t have an outdoor shower or a cattle trough bathtub. I would love something like that.
So here’s to summer, sun, and sexy heatwave movies. What are some of your summer must watch films?
Signing off
~Kate
Kate's Bookshelf 