The Spot Writers – “Cooking Summer” by Chiara De Giorgi

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is to write about something “summery.”

This week story comes from Chiara. Chiara is currently in Berlin, Germany, not quarantined anymore but still doing her best to catch up with semi-abandoned writing projects.

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Cooking Summer by Chiara De Giorgi

Bored with the cold, the rain, the snow, and the early evenings? Want to try something different for a change? If your planet is in the right position^(*), you’re in luck! Follow this easy recipe, cook your own Summer and surprise your friends!

 

1) First of all, tilt the planet just a little bit towards its Star, then set the sky over the half nearest to it to “clear-blue”. This clever trick will allow you to have longer days and shorter nights in the hemisphere of your choice. Many skip this step, but it’s absolutely worth your while, because it gives your Summer a touch of authenticity at the cost of a very small effort.

2) Now it’s time to adjust the temperature: if your planet is within the recommended range of distance from its Star, you shouldn’t need to do anything. However, you can always choose to make it a bit warmer or a bit cooler, as preferred. Try not to exceed one way or the other, or your Summer might fail.

3) Set the grass to “green” and the trees to “fruit”. Remember to sprinkle flowers with bees, and your Summer will leave quite an impression on your guests! It’s these details that make the difference!

4) Set people in “vacation” mode. You’ll notice that some will be wearing bathing suits, others light dresses or shorts; some will dive into the oceans and the seas. That is perfectly normal and actually to be expected from a summery home-made Summer^(**).

5) Before enjoying your Summer, don’t forget to melt the ice cap a bit. Use caution with this step!! In case you overdo the ice melting, you might have to start over again.

 

How did you find this recipe? Let us know in the comments and send us a picture of your home-made Summer. It will be added to our photo-gallery.

^(*)Keep your planet 147,000 to 150,000 km far from its Star, and you’re good to go! In case of a planet whose orbit do not allow such a distance, you can try to swap it with a nearer or farther planet of about the same size as yours. Be careful, though: it is a delicate detail. Too near to the Star, your planet will burn; too far from it, your planet will freeze.

^(**)In case you aim at “catastrophic Summer” we encourage you to buy one or more of the following expansions: “Fire”; “Monsoon”; “Tornados”. For a “just annoying Summer”, pick “Mosquitoes” and/or “Ticks”.

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/.

The Spot Writers – “Warm Summer Evenings” by Phil Yeats

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is to write about something “summery.”

Today’s post is written by Phil Yeats. In December, 2019, Phil (using his Alan Kemister pen name) published his most recent novel. Tilting at Windmills, the second in the Barrettsport Mysteries series of soft-boiled police detective stories set in an imaginary Nova Scotia coastal community is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Tilting-Windmills-Barrettsport-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B07L5WR948/

He’s currently working on a Cli-Fi novel. Information on that project is available on his website (https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com).

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“Warm Summer Evenings” by Phil Yeats

Years ago, we lived at the end of a cul-de-sac next to a small section of urban forest. On warm summer evenings, bimmers and other fancy sedans would arrive. They’d disgorge teenagers burdened with boomboxes, twofers, and packages of snack food. The drivers would depart, presumably to return their parents’ cars, and reappear on foot with others joining the party in the woods.

From early evening, the raucous music punctuated by occasional noisy outbursts from the participants overwhelmed the usual nighttime forest sounds. Near midnight, the teens, with boomboxes blaring, would emerge from the forest and disperse into suburban city streets.

Screeching owls, and cats expressing differences of opinion, would reassert ownership of their forest. In the morning, scavengers with their grocery store carts would collect the empty beer cans.

We lived in that house for twenty years and observed many teenage gatherings. They consumed prodigious amounts of beer, but we only witnessed one altercation. On that occasion, a sidewalk fight erupted as they left. A neighbour called the cops, and the men in blue defused the situation.

Altercations we didn’t witness presumably occurred in the woods. And pot—illegal in those less-enlightened days—must have been consumed.

Our neighbours complained about immoral behaviour and environmental damage. I refused to get involved in discussions of the morality of teenage behaviour but noted they left their trash in a city-maintained garbage bin near the entry path. And the scavengers appreciated the beer cans they left behind.

They were being teens on warm summer evenings, and I envied them as they trooped into the woods. Perhaps if I’d had opportunities for similar teenage social interaction when I was their age, I would have grown into a more sociable adult. Or perhaps not.

 

More years than I care to remember have passed, and I’m sitting outside another house enjoying another warm summery evening. Our province is recovering from its initial response to the recent coronavirus pandemic. The authorities recently eased lockdown conditions. Limited social gatherings are once again possible. Several members of our writing group organized an in-person meeting, our first in four months.

The risks were minor. Nova Scotia is nearly virus-free, and we’d be outside following the social distancing rules, but I didn’t participate. I fear my reluctance to take part was less about avoiding risk than about avoiding social interactions. Teenage lessons in sociability wouldn’t have altered this lifelong tendency.

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

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C.A. MacKenzie is the author of (among other books) the novel WOLVES DON’T KNOCK, a psychological drama/thriller, available from the author or at various retailers including Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-Dont-Knock-C-MacKenzie/dp/1927529387/].

 

The Spot Writers – “Sally and Julius” by Cathy MacKenzie

Welcome to The Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is to write about something “summery.”

This week’s contribution comes from Cathy MacKenzie. Cathy’s novel, WOLVES DON’T KNOCK, a psychological drama, is available from her locally or on Amazon. MISTER WOLFE, the sequel, coming soon, as well as MY BROTHER, THE WOLF, the last of the series.

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“Sally and Julius” by Cathy MacKenzie

“Mom,” Sally asked, “isn’t it kinda neat that July and August, the best months of the year, are the longest?”

“Are they?”

“Yeah, 31 days. Two months in a row.”

“Hmmm, guess so.” Her mother stopped rinsing the dishes and gazed at the wall.

Sally was positive her mother was reciting the alphabet song: “Thirty days have September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one…”

Her mother wiped her hands on the dishtowel and faced her. “But I thought December was your favourite. And May, your birthday.”

“No, Mom, the summer months are the ones I like the best. And so did Julius and Augustus.”

“Julius? Augustus?”

“Julius Caesar. We learned about him in school. He had an ego, just like Marlene and Chloe. They think the world revolves around them, just like Julius did.”

“And who is Augustus?”

“Augustus is his nephew. Great nephew, I think.”

“I see.”

“So, do you know what Julius did? He named July after him, and he made it 31 days. That was the longest month back then.”

Her mother put down the dishtowel and glanced at her before pouring soap into the dishwasher.

“And then when Julius died, Augustus wanted a month after him, so he named the next month Augustus. And he had to have 31 days, too.”

“You seem to know a lot about them.”

“I do. We learned about them in school. Well, except for the months. I found that out by myself. On the internet.”

“Sounds like Augustus was a tad egotistical, too,” her mother said.

Sally giggled. “I think they were freaky. But then guess what happened?”

“What?” Her mother seemed intrigued, latching onto her every word.

“Then the year had too many days, so they had to take two away from February. And that’s how come February became the shortest month.”

Her mother turned back to the dishwasher, pushed the on button, and closed the door. “Interesting. You’ll have to tell Dad that story.”

“Maybe I will.”

When her father returned home from work, she relayed the story to him.

“It’s an interesting tale,” he said when she was finished, “but what’s so special about July and August? Why did they pick those months?”

“Julius liked the summer, Dad. And so do I. Augustus just took the month after Julius did. Not sure if he liked the summer as much as Julius, though.”

“But…”

She scampered off, not wanting to listen to anything else her father would say. His “but” said it all. He’d find holes in her story. She had to admit she was a bit confused. What about the other months that had 31 days? How come Julius didn’t make his month 32 days? Or perhaps way back then the months had less than 31 days and his was the longest. Maybe after Augustus died five other egotistical jerks came along and named months after themselves, too, and made their months 31 days. She’d have to Google it. Maybe there was more to the story.

But, for now, summer waited. She couldn’t waste any of it. It’d be over before she knew it.

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.ca/