O Wild West Wind, though breath of Autumn’s being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing ...
Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams
The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
Lulled by the coil of his crystalline streams ...
The triumph of the prophecy! O, Wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind. Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind
The wrathful winter, ’proaching on apace,
With blustering blasts had all ybared the treen,
And old Saturnus, with his frosty face,
With chilling cold had pierced the tender green ...
And sorrowing I to see the summer flowers,
The lively green, the lusty leas, forlorn,
The sturdy trees so shattered with the showers,
The fields so fade that flourished so beforn,
It taught me well all earthly things be born
To die the death, for nought long time may last;
The summer beauty yields to winter’s blast. Thomas Sackville, The Mirror for Magistrates, 1563
All things that pass
Are woman’s looking-glass;
They show her how her bloom must fade,
And she herself be laid
With withered roses in the shade;
With withered roses and the fallen peach,
Unlovely, out of reach
Of summer’s joy that was. Christina Rossetti, Passing and Glassing
Summer means many different things to different people … but for us – the sport of Surfing! The thrill and the fun of the sport of surfing. The Endless Summer, 1966
Some surfers prefer the hairy thrill of a big wave. ibid.
Henry’s a seal – nature’s greatest body surfer. ibid.
Mike & Robert: You think they’re coming out with their forks to have you for dinner! ibid. guys in Ghana
Here in Cape Town they like to go all together … Durban: the sun is already up and it’s 4.30 a.m. … 80 degrees out, water temperate about the same … Sharks are a tremendous problem here. ibid.
In the curl for 45 seconds. ibid.
Lots of girls surf in Hawaii and many of them are very good. ibid.
Hawaii is truly a land of an endless summer. ibid.
You should have been here yesterday! ibid. dudes in Australia
So yes it’s been quite a summer. We finally got a new Familiar. But he had an accident and died. What We Do in the Shadows s2e1: Resurrection, Nandja, BBC 2020
The sun is out. The days are long. It’s the season where life seems carefree. But it’s a critical time when all living things must make the most of the sunshine. This is summer. Secret Life of the Forest s1e2: Summer
It’s June in Kielder. Around the forest there’s the gentle murmur of buzzing insects. ibid.
Across Kielder’s 7 osprey nests, 13 chicks have hatched. ibid.
This is a herd of wild goats. One of the area’s oldest and most elusive groups of wild animals. ibid.
Summer is now in full swing. With the passing of the solstice, the days may be shortening but the heat is building. This is high summer. It’s the most productive time of the year. The chance to find a feast in the forest. And an opportunity for a summer fling. Secret Life of the Forest s2e2
Beavers were introduced only three short years ago … Each year they’ve had a new litter. ibid.
It’s July in Dalby. It’s a time of peak activity for plants and animals living in the forest … This year, the sun is blazing hot. Secret Life of the Forest s2e3
Of course the beavers, who were first introduced here in 2019, are experts at adapting to their environment. They are multiskilled, specialist in architecture, engineering, ecology and carpentry. ibid.
It’s believed deer populations across the UK are soaring. At their highest numbers for a thousand years. ibid.
Buoyed by the warmth and longest spells of sunshine there is an array of life. But much of it is hidden away from insects going about their lives quietly in the foliage to birds nesting in the visitors’ centre. Secret Life of the Forest s2e4
The sun … fuels extraordinary change. And transforms the lives of all it shines upon. Now as we enter our summer we begin to feel its full force. A Year on Planet Earth III: Summer, ITV 2023