Summer is my all-time favorite season. Maybe the notion is a carry over from elementary days and the end of the school year, but I still thrill when I rip the month of May from the wall calendar and anticipate what the months ahead will bring.

Here are the ten things I like most:

1. Watermelon and corn-on-the-cob. I eat a lot of it. Oh, and fresh tomatoes.
2. The pool. When we moved to Texas, I quickly learned the only way to spend any time outdoors in the summer is immersed in cool water.
3. Suntan lotion. Okay, I know this is a little puzzling. But I love the smell.
4. Longer days. You just get to pack more life in, know what I mean?
5. Pedicures. I pamper my toes year round, but in the summer I splurge and get things like “fireworks” or “flowers” painted on.
6. Barbeques. I love when my men take over the cooking duties. Nothing satisfies like a slab of ribs smoked to perfection, slathered with KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce.
7. Vacation! I’m always up for a good road trip, or a week at the beach.
8. 4^th of July. Everything about Independence Day tickles my soul. I love the picnics, the fireworks and the sappy freedom songs. Flags in yards. I love it all.
9. Flowers. I admit few flowers flourish in Texas summer heat, but my mind still conjures sky blue hydrangeas in Oregon, the sweet scented roses in my gramma’s yard, and pots of red geraniums and blue lobelia on sidewalks in Boise. Even better, wildflowers scattering the mountain meadows outside Sun Valley.
10. READING!  Life just doesn’t get any better than sitting in a chaise lounge with a tall glass of iced tea and a good book.  Pretty much heaven on earth, as I see it.

 What do you love about summer?

MOTHER OF PEARL releases Sept 1. Have you pre-ordered your copy yet?