Believe it or not, this coming weekend is the Memorial Day holiday weekend.  The “unofficial” start of summer is here (and if the preview of temperatures over the past week or so is any indication, it’s going to be a hot one). 

Here are some of the things that bring the summer season to life:

• Cookouts and swim parties.
• The scent of suntan lotion in a hot car. 
• Evenings spent gently rocking on a porch swing and watching the fireflies rise from the yard.
• Sweet corn and a juicy watermelon.
• Fresh-cut lawns and flickering tiki torches.
• Hummingbirds buzzing around a hanging feeder.
• Hard-shell crabs and cold beer.
• Listening to live music at a summer concert or carnival.
• Fried chicken, juicy tomatoes, and potato salad.
• The smell in the air after a hard summer rain.
• Watching fireworks light up the night sky.
• Long weekends at the beach (if you can make it over the Bay Bridge), munching on “Fisher’s” popcorn or “Thrasher’s” Boardwalk fries.
• A close baseball game, a good stadium hot dog, and the seventh-inning stretch.
• An evening walk on the C&O Canal.
• Nine holes of golf right after the sun comes up.
• Fighting the drips on a soft-serve ice cream cone.
• Watching kids splash in a wading pool.

What are some of your favorite things about the summer season?  Drop me a line in the comments below!