Summer comes early and always leaves too soon

Summer begins on Sunday, June 21. Legally and astronomically speaking.

Ain’t nobody pays no attention to that.

Used to be that the “unofficial official” kickoff for summer was Labor Day weekend.

That was before Mother Nature got hacked off at all the pollutants in the Earth’s atmosphere and began to punish us with 90-degree temperatures in April. If not March.

So, for the summer of 2026, let’s all agree that the unofficial official start of summer will be Friday, May 1. That gives us exactly 18 weeks of summer before Labor Day weekend.

Eighteen weeks that will hurry by in an absolute blur before the first September acorn falls.

What to do with these precious days, especially these precious weekends more valuable than gold?

The short answer? Fun stuff. Memorable stuff. Stuff that will help wrangle every bit of enjoyment from these precious summer days — and nights — that lie ahead.

Here is some of my favorite “summer stuff.”

Go On a Picnic

The old truism is exactly that — true. Food simply tastes better when consumed in the great outdoors. A great spot to picnic? How about next to the Jacob Fork River in South Mountains State Park.

No, you can’t walk up from the picnic area to the High Shoals Waterfall — that trail is likely to be closed for another year — but the 4-mile round trip to Chestnut Knob is just about perfect for walking off a heavy lunch.

The menu? For my tastes, load the basket with fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw. And perhaps an apple pie.

Go Star Gazing

Clear summer nights are pretty rare in Western North Carolina. Fog, haze, and clouds hide the night sky more often than not. But if the forecast calls for a clear night, head to a location with a really dark sky.

That means, of course, getting away from the light-polluted Interstate 40 corridor and traveling toward either the South Mountains or the Blue Ridge. But, believe me, the short trip is well worth it.

The Milky Way, stretching from horizon to horizon in the eastern half of the sky on clear summer evenings when there is no moon, is one of the most stunning sights in all of the natural world.

We’ll also, in early summer, be blessed with an interesting pairing of the two brightest planets — Jupiter and Venus — in the western sky after sunset. Jupiter will be bright. Venus is absolutely brilliant.

Take in a Tourists Game

Yes, I know the Hickory Crawdads are our home team. But of all the minor league ballparks I have visited, Asheville’s McCormick Field is easily my favorite locale to take in a game.

The setting is gorgeous, carved into a hillside just south of downtown. The park is small and intimate, without a bad seat in the house, and the fans are rowdy, enthusiastic, and they boo just as lustily as they cheer.

The ballyard also has an outstanding selection of both food and beverages, as wide-ranging and eclectic as some major league parks I have visited. But, of course, it is Asheville.

Read A Fun Book

As I often told my students back when I was teaching, reading need not always be a laborious, “Oh, I need to learn something” activity. Sometimes it can be strictly for fun and summer is the perfect time for a perfect fun read.

I have fallen in love of late with the works of Florida newspaper columnist and novelist Carl Hiaasen. His works are a mixture of environmental protection fervor, crime drama, mystery, sarcasm, and political commentary.

This time a year ago my bride and I were in Key West for a glorious week, and I read my first Hiaasen novel, “Razor Burn.” Set entirely in Key West, it was a hoot.

His latest work is called “Fever Beach,” and I can envision reading it while sequestered in a lounge chair under a beach umbrella beside the Atlantic later this summer.

Take In a Fireworks Show

My list actually includes half a dozen more items, but my hectoring Executive Editor Angela Copeland tells me I need to wrap it up. Something about how we can’t ask VanNoppen to write short if she and I don’t follow the same rules.

So, one final perfect summer activity … taking in a fireworks show.

This activity is entirely dependent, of course, on enough rain falling to ease the severe drought in which we find ourselves and to bring an end to the outdoor burning ban now in place from Murphy to Manteo.

If the weather does change, the Hickory Crawdads will host fireworks after each Friday home game, as will the Asheville Tourists. The July 4 holiday will also bring a plethora of fireworks shows around the region — assuming Mother Nature cooperates.

Nothing beats leaning back on a warm summer evening and watching the sky explode in a burst of colors and a cacophony of sound.

But remember as you watch, even as the season is just beginning, the precious days of summer will be gone just as quickly as one of those rockets streaking across the sky.

Enjoy them while they last.