June Blog

Welcoming Summer on Long Island

Written by Yvonne Dagger

Dagger and his brother Deisel enjoying a summer playdate circa 2018

---

I love the month of June because it is the beginning of an exciting time...
The “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer!!”

To me, as a youngster, June was always a time of the year for saying farewell to another school year, celebrating Father’s Day, graduation’s and looking forward to summer activities. Whenever June arrived, I always knew that the days ahead were going to be carefree and fun-filled. They signified BBQ’s, picnics and going to the beach. 

For many of us, June is the start of the summer vacation.  Kids go off to summer recreation and camps of all types. Outdoor activities and drive-in movies watched under the stars dominated my childhood.  Books I had put off reading during the school year were on my list of things to “catch up on.”  

It was also a great time of growth for me both creatively and spiritually.  Although I never felt the growth at the time, in retrospect, I’ve noticed how much I did grow over the summer months. I’ve come to realize that the summer brings so many benefits and opportunities.  If we just explore the possibilities the summer has to offer, our imagination grows as well as our creative skills. I've witnessed this first hand over the course of my life.  There are so many ways to increase your creative ability.

For instance, a project I’ve enjoyed doing over the summer months is painting in plein air. Taking an easel, a canvas and paints outdoors and choosing a subject is a wonderful way to expand one's creative skills. I've done this many times over the years during the summer months. I’ve even taken my French Easel down to the beach and painted en plein air.  I've found that painting the same scene outdoors at different times of the day to witness how the sun’s rays hits an object from all angles is a wonderful thing to do. The great master Claude Monet, the founder of Impressionistic painting, did this often. He would go to a location at dawn and paint the same landscape, building or haystacks on four canvases at four different times of the day. He would paint one at dawn, another at noon, then another about 4PM and the last at 7PM.  His Impressionistic style of painting was completely evident as the viewer saw how an object changes when the light of the sun and atmosphere hit it coming from different directions. If you happen to have the time, I would highly recommend planning a project like this for anyone that loves to see how light affects an object. It’s on my list of things to do again this summer.  

To my husband, Denis, June always meant that the surfing season was beginning. He loves to surf.  And he’s real good at it, too. I call him the “Duke.”  Although, I’m not a surfer… I do love to watch him surf, though…and me?  I love the sun. The sun has always meant happiness to me. So, the longer days of sunny enjoyment makes me feel real good. I’ve also noticed that Dagger loves the sun too. He loves to lay in the sun. He will lay down outside in the sun for an hour and sometimes more…if I let him. But, I have to be his advocate and bring him in out of the sun or he’ll stay out there all day. I think, like me, it makes him feel good and it is a great source of Vitamin D which gives him and me extra energy 🌞 

Whatever it is that you do as the summer gets under way, have fun exploring, creating, learning, inspiring and above all... be safe!!  

I’d love to hear about your summer plans…
​Please share them with me in the comments below. 
Thanks!!!
Happy June!!
AND
Happy Tales to you,
XO Yvonne

---

---