This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. We write for just 5 minutes on a one-word prompt, without heavy editing, and see what happens. Today I am being strict about my 5 minutes and so I have a start and stop in there. The prompt for today is “summer.”
[start]
I remember when I was a kid, summer vacation was the best. I would stay up super late reading, and then sleep till noon or later.
My parents were both working by the time I was in junior high school, so there would be the inevitable list on the kitchen table of stuff Mom wanted us to get done before she got home. But it wasn’t bad.
I grew up in the Oakland, Calif., foothills, so the days were warm but not hot. The mornings were usually cool and the nights could get cold. Our back deck looked out over the San Francisco Bay, or what you could see of it through the trees that had grown up over the years we lived there. It was very quiet. No major thoroughfares in the hills. Blue jays were our noisiest neighbors. Or sometimes the raccoons that would fight every evening when our elderly neighbor set out dry dog food for them to eat.
I remember going over there one night when she fed them to see a whole bunch of raccoons, young and old, holding those little brown balls of dog food in their paws, dipping them in the bowls of water, because raccoons apparently wash their food before they eat it. And then they’d fight over what was left.
I still like to stay up late, buried in a good book, but the responsibility of adulthood has crept in to take away the magic of those days. [stop]
There’s more I would like to say about those summer days in Northern California, but I’ll adhere to the 5-minute rule today. The rest will be for another time. Meanwhile, summer reading suggestions are welcome! Put your recommendations in the comments.
Compelled 
Do you like fiction? Rosamunde Pilcher!
Fiction is what I read the most. I’m not sure I have read any Pilcher. I’ll look into it! Thanks for stopping by!
Redommend this book, if you haven’t already read it: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
I have heard of it but not read it. Thanks for the rec!
Wow, your words paint an image very different from the Oakland I think of and have visited from time to time. It seems like an idealic childhood summer, for sure.
Amie, FMF #14
That’s the thing: people often think of Oakland as the airport area or downtown, but the hills of Oakland are beautiful! Thanks for stopping by, Amie!
Ah yes, the always necessary note on the kitchen table. It is what moms do!!:)
I know, right? I used to tell my dad, do NOT unload the dishwasher before you go to work. I will do it. He was so loud banging all around. I’d much rather do it myself than be woken up early in the summer!
Enjoyed reading your post, and was fascinated to learn racoons wash their food before eating it. Who would have thought? The photos are lovely as well. What a wonderful view.
Thank you, Sandra. I’m thinking when a raccoon is thieving from a trash can, they’re not doing much washing! But I guess when the opportunity arises, that’s what they prefer. Thanks for stopping by!
My parents were around in the summer but I relate to the extra time to dig into books. I loved the library. Currently, I am reading my second Kristin Hannah book. I appreciate her writing style, historical research, and attention to the details of human character.
I have not heard of Kristin Hannah. I’ll have to check her out! Thanks, Stephanie!