It is Memorial Weekend.
For many, this weekend marks the beginning of summer.
Even if the weather has been seasonally cold, wet, misty, and rainy, or even snowy and icy, as it has been this year, we think SUMMER.
Contractors and landscapers have been busy getting summer cottages and restaurants ready for the coming season. Water gets turned on, houses checked for winter damage, lawns are mown, and then, the summer people start to arrive.
A cottage in New England is a house that is used seasonally. It can be on the ocean, a pond, a river, in a meadow or in woods. It can be large or small, it doesn’t matter. It is called a cottage.
This is the weekend where porches are swept, geraniums put out, and gardens put in. A garden in New England does not mean flowers. When asked if your garden is in, it means vegetables. Traditionally one’s garden is not put in until this weekend, because of late frosts.
It is a weekend where the last daffodils are still in bloom, the trusses of lilacs are showing their colors, and the woods, fields, and road sides are showing every shade of green.
One has to be careful driving- ducks and geese are crossing the roads with babies, moving from pond to pond. Turkeys shepherd their young along side roads. And it is not unusual to see a turtle in the middle of the road, with people stopping to help it across.
Along the water boats are also being readied. In marinas the sound of sanding is continuous! Boats are moved from winter storage to moorings, and docks are put in.
Even if not really warm, everyone enjoys the days of more light, even if they aren’t exactly sunny! Maine comes alive with activity as the days continue to grow longer.
And, after the Memorial Day parades are over, it is traditional to have a cookout with one’s family. Potato salad is made, grills fired up, and after a weekend of getting ready for the summer, people can actually relax, and enjoy their cottage. They can imagine a garden filled with snapdragons and sunflowers.
They can enjoy thinking about swimming, sailing, hiking, or fishing; or maybe the enjoyment of a pot of tea on their porch!
Wishing all a happy Memorial Day weekend!
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