What’s Vinnie’s Creative Idea? Will His Mom Like It? Or, Will It Raise Her Heart Rate?
Vinnie Returns on August 1 – He’s Got Plans for the Summer
What Vinnie Wants to do This Summer and What His Mom Thinks He Should do are Worlds Apart. LOL Vinnie Returns August 1.
Summer Dreams ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Summer Dreams
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
When the Summer sun is shining,
And the green things push and grow,
Oft my heart runs over measure,
With its flowing fount of pleasure,
As I feel the sea winds blow;
Ah, then life is good, I know.
And I think of sweet birds building,
And of children fair and free;
And of glowing sun-kissed meadows,
And of tender twilight shadows,
And of boats upon the sea.
Oh, then life seems good to me!
Then unbidden and unwanted,
Come the darker, sadder sights;
City shop and stifling alley,
Where misfortune’s children rally;
And the hot crime-breeding nights,
And the dearth of God’s delights.
And I think of narrow prisons
Where unhappy songbirds dwell,
And of cruel pens and cages
Where some captured wild thing rages
Like a madman in his cell,
In the Zoo, the wild beasts’ hell.
And I long to lift the burden
Of man’s selfishness and sin;
And to open wide earth’s treasures
Of God’s storehouse, full of pleasures,
For my dumb and human kin,
And to ask the whole world in.
The Human Seasons ~ John Keats
The Human Seasons
John Keats
Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
He has his Summer, when luxuriously
Spring’s honied cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming high
Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness—to let fair things
Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
Or else he would forego his mortal nature.
Wellness Tip ~ Enjoying the Summer
create healthy summer habits
- Beat the sun and heat with an early morning or evening activity.
- Wear protective clothing, such as hats, long-sleeve shirts, and long pants or skirts.
- Use sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15, preferably 30, and reapply frequently.
- Use sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB.
- Try to stay in the shade when outdoors during peak sunlight.
- Go to an air-conditioned gym, do water workouts, or use a fitness video at home.
- Drink plenty of water before, during, and after exercise.
“I Shall Keep on Singing” by Emily Dickinson
I Shall Keep Singing
I shall keep singing!
I shall keep singing!
Birds will pass me
On their way to Yellower Climes –
Each — with a Robin’s expectation –
I — with my Redbreast –
And my Rhymes –
Late — when I take my place in summer –
But — I shall bring a fuller tune –
Vespers — are sweeter than Matins — Signor –
Morning — only the seed of Noon –