Country view: Summer fun

Summers by the lake

Each summer just before school begins, our son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren invite us to join them on their vacation to the North Woods. My husband and I so appreciate the opportunity to be with them. The children grow each year and add new fun things to do. We fish, canoe, kayak, swim, and just wallow in the country air. The happy songs of loons and so many varieties of birds awaken us every morning.

The days begin with oatmeal and wild berries picked by the grandchildren. Breakfast is always a sharing time of the previous day's fun. With no television, radio, or newspaper, we discover some important realizations: Daily, we miss quiet, thinking, reading, and connecting with each other.

Even on rainy days we find painting, drawing, and lingering with books so pleasant. The smell of fresh rain in the pine forest is a memory that lasts for a very long time.

The names G'ma (that is what my grandkids call me) and Papa bring joy to the ears, even if poor hearing doesn't allow. The wonderful days that we spend together are remembered all year long, and the pictures taken are often shared.

Luanne Gringon, Waukesha, Wisconsin

The pontoon

My husband, Tom, and I have a 12-person-capacity pontoon boat, the fulfillment of a long-deferred dream come true. We spend most summer days and some evenings (before the bats begin to take to the air) on our boat, always in the company of at least a few of our friends and family. Tom is the boat's skipper and I'm the cruise hostess. I enjoy making gourmet meals to share with our guests while we cruise lazily along Goodyear Lake, taking in the majestic sight of the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. It's a time of fine food, fabulous fellowship, and charming countryside.

While we don't bob along on the tube, many of our children, grandchildren, and friends' youngsters do! Nothing else quite quenches the heat of the summer sun like a good drenching. With life vests donned, the kids climb aboard the rubber float, with me as the watchwoman and Tom as the thrillgiver. Wide-eyed grins tell us everyone loves the splish and splash.

Lynn Benicken, East Meredith, New York

King and Prince

For four years we have owned a team of horses, and summer is now a whole lot more fun. One of our favorite activities is a slow, steady ride in a covered wagon pulled around the neighborhood by our team. This is even more fun when we load our covered wagon full of friends and family. Adults quickly get to laughing and the children unplug from today's electronics.

What can top a wagon full of folks in a slow, carefree drive? Well, put that formula in a summer parade. We have participated in several local parades with our Percheron-paint cross team, King and Prince, and it never gets old.

Part of what makes the parades so much fun is that the horses love being there. For us, showing off our polished and happy team is a tremendous thrill. To have family loaded in that wagon, waving, enjoying the moment -- words can't describe how much fun that is. And when the parade is done, King wants to turn around, get lined up, and do it all over again. We all share his feelings.

Maxine Meyer, Finlayson, Minnesota

Summer gardening

Our summer fun consists of gardening. We have three boys, ages 12, 11, and 1. Last year we had bumper crops of vegetables and fruits. As we picked the fruit, we weren't sure where the fun quit and the work began. I harvested peaches while our 1-year-old ate them, with juice running off his elbows.

From about 30 raspberry plants, we harvested 80 quarts of raspberries, enough to share with the neighbors. We planted 50 pounds of potatoes, which yielded about 600 pounds total.

It sounds like lots of work, but working with the family turns out to be fun. We had an inflatable pool set up and the boys would swim a while, then run to the blueberry patch, eat a handful of blueberries, grab some raspberries, and run back to the pool.

Susan Yoder, Millersburg, Ohio