Summer Delights
What Made Me Happy 2025 | Summer Edition
I ususally consider summer to be my least favourite season. It’s too hot, too bright, too loud (and too boring as far as the weather is concerned) for my taste.
But this year is different for many reasons, and when I thought about it, there’s so much about summer I’ve been enjoying this year.
Hilda’s wonderful post has also inspired me to think about my summer delights. 💛
Summer is for taking walks in the very early mornings when the sun is just rising and with birdsong as your only companion.
Summer is for birthdays - extra special this year.
Summer is for sitting on a bench in your garden with your favourite beverage, enjoying the abundance of flowers and the beautiful bumblebees.
Summer is for walking barefoot and feeling the ground beneath you more intensely.
Summer is for being with friends, having good and deep conversations and enjoying each other’s company.
Summer is for laughter.
Summer is for optimism and new ideas.
Summer is for seeking out rivers, lakes and the sea.
Summer is for really noticing the abundance of beauty around you.
Summer is for roses.
Summer is for icecream. (What’s your favourite? Mine is cappuccino.)
Summer is for grilling fish and vegetables.
Summer is for visiting enchanted forests.
Summer is for meditating outside.
Summer is for a silent mindfulness walk in the forest.
Summer is for visiting the Little Free Libraries on a walk. (I even discovered one in the forest near the source of the river Alster.)
Summer is for walking around the lake when no one else is around and embracing the peaceful atmosphere.
Summer is for observing ducklings and mute swan cygnets.
Summer is for discovering all kinds of fascinating, beautiful, interesting insects.
Summer is for watching the stars.
Summer is for bike tours, feeling the wind, marvelling at the open sky and watching red kites soaring on the thermals. (The birds, not the childrens’ toys.)
Summer is for lying on a picnic blanket under a tree in your garden or in a park and reading your favourite children’s book or a light, funny, calming read.
Summer is for calming down.
Summer is for open-air concerts and festivals. (My favourite one is the SummerJazz Festival in August.)
Summer is for visiting new places and for day trips. (I’m especially looking forward to a trip to Lübeck with my dad. We are the history enthusiasts in our family and like to dive into it together from time to time.)
Summer is the song of the blackbird on top of the maple tree.
Summer is warm wind on your skin.
Summer is flowers, flowers, flowers - every day the garden looks different and always beautiful.
Summer is long daylight hours.
Summer is crickets (my ultimate summer sound).
Summer is the daily visits of the neighbours’ cat who loves to do his intensive grooming routine in the middle of our patio, enjoying the warmth of the flagstones and the quiet of our garden. He has even found a new favourite spot in a flowerbed.
Summer is for remembering your long childhood summers, endless weeks of freedom, joy and adventure.
I remember childhood vacations in Denmark, three weeks of simple pleasures, dunes, beach and the North Sea, playing outside all day, playing board games in the evenings, the sandy-salty crust on my skin, every year looking forward to the Matilde cocoa you only got there.
I remember being all day every day in my grandparent’s big, beautiful garden, swimming in their pool, reading comics on a sunlounger in the shades of the fir trees next to my grandfather who did his crossword puzzles.
I remember playing with friends outside all summer, riding our bikes, playing made-up games, staying outside until dusk.
I remember reading piles of books in the shades on our patio, diving deep into different worlds and new adventures while feeling safe and comforted. I remember going to the library twice a week to swap books. (Oh, the excitement!)
I remember eating every meal outside. I remember the warmth of the flagstones and the walls that surrounded our patio, heated up by the sun, giving generously back in the colder evenings.
Happy memories.
This year is different because I notice so much more. I pay attention to the details, I feel how I reconnect with nature more and more. I’ve made peace with my past (at least some of if, let’s be honest), I enjoy to revisit happy childhood memories, I even celebrated my birthday again (a big deal for me!).
This year is different. This summer is different because of it all. Not everything has been happy, but there are so many delights! 💛
What have you especially enjoyed this summer? I’d love to hear about it!
This is so lovely to read from the other side of the world. Almost felt as if it was summer here 😊
Some gorgeous photos and gorgeous summer suggestions! My favourite ice cream is salted caramel or a really good vanilla where you can see the caviar from the vanilla pod. 😃