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Wednesday, September 30th, 2026

Mountain Musings with Uncle Mott: Here Comes Summer

Jun 19, 2026 | Uncle Mott

I’d like to begin this week with a seasonal sort of rhyme that goes sort of like this: Spring has sprung, and fall has fell.

Now it’s summer and it’s hotter than…heck, yes, that’s it, hotter than heck, what the heck did you think I was gonna say?

Well, there’s no denying it, folks, school is out, and summer has arrived with a vengeance.

“Here comes summer: school is out, oh happy days. Here comes summer, Gonna grab my girl and run away. If she’s willing, we’ll go steady right away, oh, let the sun shine bright on my happy summer home.” (“Here Comes Summer” – Jerry Keller – 1959)

In case you haven’t noticed, summer’s arrival has brought with it an unprecedented explosion of the annoying beetles (No, not talkin’ bout VW’s), enough to keep an exterminator busy until the next snow flies.

And, speakin’ bout flies, we seem to have a bumper crop of deer flies in my neck of the woods, even though I haven’t seen a single deer…nor a married one either. However, there does seems to be a bountiful harvest of ordinary house flies (at least at my house), hornets and crane flies…yer kiddin,’ you mean to tell me that flies can use a crane? I could sure use one to remove all the junk in my backyard.

I could also use a few more mosquito hawks right about now. The only reason I mention this is becuz I just got started on my yearly weed-whacking extravaganza and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes, not to mention the deer flies. I wish they had deer fly hawks. Now, the ants are on the march again and all of those “flyin” ants are on the march again, and all of those so-called flying ants you’ve seen ain’t actually ants, they’re termites. I suppose I’m lucky, cuz I’ve never had any problems with these pests…cept’ for the time my brother put termites in my Lincoln Logs.

It won’t be long before we start seein’ weird lookin,’ bulbous, beetle-like flyin’ creatures that bounce off yer windows at night. I’m not sure what they are, but they have little orange balls on the end of their antennas that remind me of those orange Union 76 balls you used to see in car commercials (and car antennas), back in the day.

Soon, those cute little green “Stealth Fighter” bugs will be dive-bombing my desk lamp again. I don’t know what they are, but they are shiny, green, and triangular. And, speakin’ bout bugs, the inchworms are startin’ to dangle from their silken threads, hangin’ from the oak trees; I wonder if they’re actually an inch long. Think I’ll get out my tape measure and measure one.

Summertime does have its positive aspects, however; some of my favorite summertime activities are backyard barbecues, road trips, outdoor concerts, late night star-gazing in the hot tub and strolls through the woods with my honey.

“Here comes summer, feel her lips so close to mine. Here comes summer, when we meet, her eyes both shine. It’s the greatest, let’s have summer all the time. Oh, let the sun shine bright on my happy summer home.”

 

Keep it flyin’

Uncle Mott

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