For most of my life I’ve enjoyed summer. I’ve spent many hours outdoors in the hot season, frolicking under the Sun or soaking up its potent rays while lying on a blanket or chaise lounge.
Alas, somewhere along the line, perhaps about 10 years ago, my good feelings about summer took a sharp turn southward. Since then, I’ve mostly stayed indoors in summer when the Sun is high in the sky, my body no longer happy to be exposed to temperatures above 85°F (29°C) and to an unrelentingly bright ball of fire. Now deep into my senior-citizenhood, I melt like ice cream under those conditions. Which doesn’t fit the definition of having fun in the summertime.
A week and a half or so ago, though, a northward shift occurred. I have no idea how long this positive outlook on summer will remain in place. In any event, it’s fascinating to me that the change occurred at all.
My favorite fruit, peaches, prompted my new attitude. There I was in early June at a local supermarket, buying this and that, when I remembered that peaches had come into season in parts of the USA and would be for sale in the store. Moments later I picked out a couple of peaches. They’d been shipped from the state of Georgia, one of the peach hubs of America, to Pennsylvania, where I reside and was grocery shopping.
One of those peaches took two days to ripen, the other took three. The waits were worth it. The peaches blew my mind when they entered my mouth, so luscious were they. Their sweetness was exemplary, their texture a dream. In love with the fruit, I realized that peaches galore would be available for the next two or three months. In other words, throughout the summer. And, at that moment, I found myself regarding summer, which officially began in my hemisphere on the 20th of June, in a good light. “You know,” I said to myself, “summer offers more than the opportunities to sweat like a f*cking pig and to come close to passing out from the heat. Neil, you’ve forgotten that summer has its upsides too.”
Yes, I’m in a much better frame of mind about summer than I’ve been in a long time, despite the crazy heat that has Pennsylvania and much of the rest of the world in its grip. And I have more than peaches to thank for that, because what I’m expecting to be enjoyable getaways are on the horizon. Sandy and I will be at a family reunion this summer for a few days. The locale? A village beside a beautiful lake in rural upstate New York. And we’ll also spend time with friends at their beach house in Delaware.
Now, I’m going to stay in the shade, or indoors, a good bit at those gatherings. I’m not about to forget what high heat and glaring Sun can do to me. However, I fully intend to have fun while there. And if that happens, I figure there’s a chance I’ll also approach the remainder of summer 2024, and subsequent summers, lightheartedly, like I used to do.
I can think of no better way to end this essay than to include a song from Eat A Peach, the album released in 1972 by one of the greatest rock groups of all time, The Allman Brothers Band. Fittingly, they were based in Georgia. And, I’d guess, they consumed more than their fair share of peaches. I’ll leave you with Stand Back, one of the Allman songs you don’t hear all too often. Power-packed and gritty, it almost makes me want to go outside and dance madly while engulfed by high temps and intense sunlight. I said almost.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
I love summer but I also can’t do heat any more, either. Like everything else, my internal temperature regulator is ageing, and I’m now very sensitive to anything above about 29 or 30 as well. I sit in the shade and stay inside when the temperature gets up there, but I love evening and morning walks and enjoying everything else that summer has to offer, including peaches. I hope you continue your northward climb. Cheers.
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I’m northward bound. (I think.)
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I’ll trade you songs. This one is called Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America. Hope it comes through.
By the way way, have you ever tried a grilled peach? Don’t knock it.
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Thanks for the Peaches song, Crystal. I’d never heard it before. I’ve had grilled peaches, but not in a million years. They are outstanding.
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We used to enjoy the summer because we could shed our winter clothes and flaunt our young, lithe bodies. Maybe that’s part of the reason we could tolerate the heat. Now, we cover ourselves from head to toe to protect our ageing skin. Talk about closing the barn door after the horse has fled!
Here, the peaches aren’t quite ripe but nectarines are. My neighbor’s apricots are finished though. There’s nothing like a warm stone fruit, freshly picked, especially one pilfered from a neighbor’s tree!
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Hi Judy. The first peaches I had this season were from Georgia. I’ve had some from California since then. All of them have been delicious.
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It is curious how and why our bodies change over time. I used to love playing in the snow. Well, I was a kid in those days but still . . . now I’ve gotten soft and doen’t like hot or cold. Fortunately, we live near the ocean in the redwood country of California. It’s mild pretty much year round. Enjoy those peaches!
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Redwood country is magnificent. Those redwoods are mind-blowing. And the Pacific is gorgeous. You live in a good place.
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We have stumbled into a batch of deliciously sweet nectarines and are overdosing on them. Plenty of nectarine songs exist but none to compare to the Eat a Peach selection.
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Hi Geoff. You’ve reminded me that I haven’t had a nectarine in a long time. I’ll buy one or two soon.
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Sadly, there will be British Columbia peaches in our stores this summer. A week of intense cold in January froze the buds and wiped out the crop. We will have to rely on peaches imported from elsewhere, because they are an essential part of the summer.
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That’s bad news about the BC peach crop. Farming can be such a precarious occupation.
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Farmers have to be tough, especially with all the extreme weather. And we all depend on them.
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we’re in the midst of winter here, Neil, sheltering from s rain bomb that has burst overhead. Right now I’d enjoy a few hot days. Enjoying that gritty track you suggested and going out to buy me some peaches 🙂
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Eat a peach!
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hahahaha ; I will —
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Glad you’ve rediscovered the joy of summer
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I wasn’t expecting this to happen, but I’m glad it did and I hope it lasts.
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You bring in the Summer so well Neil. And to think you did it with great taste, plump peaches, sunshine and complimentary music. Thanks always for the uplifts!🍑🍑
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Hi, and thanks a lot for your comments. I don’t know who this is, though. You’re listed as Anonymous.
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I share your experience of summer heat – though Irish summer heat hardly compares with what you experience. Irishmen melt at 25C! In advancing years I find I am very inclined to become dehydrated though a disinclination to drink sufficient water contributes hugely to this – water is for washing after all; beer is for rehydration! I have to be careful in summer. Re summer fruit – your story of the peaches illustrates today’s farming and shopping experience. Fruit is picked before it is ripe to that it may remain in reasonably good condition for the days necessary for transport and time on the shelf and even then it still needs a few days to ripen. It never tastes the same as fruit ripened on the tree, picked and eaten in the sunshine! Enjoy the time with family…in the shade!
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Hey there, Paddy. Don’t overdo it on the beer. You won’t be able to tend to your gardens properly if you do!
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Everything in moderation! Even sunshine and temperatiures!
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My husband always jokes that I have a very small comfort zone. I am either hot or cold. But these days I do love all the changing seasons. When I lived in Ontario, I hated the hot humid summers and never went outside for the duration. My attitude towards summer was much like yours, absolute dread. But after moving back to my Nova Scotia home, where the temperatures aren’t as hot and there are beautiful beaches and lakes to escape the heat, I am outside constantly. Protected from the sun, but outside. Toss in a couple of ductless heat pumps to counter any uncomfortable weather and life is good. Glad to hear that your summer now has an upside.
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Hi. Locale can make all the difference. Nova Scotia sounds like it is ideal for summer.
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Hi Neil – can’t forget cherries, black raspberries, nectarines and watermelons! But you’re right, a Georgia peach can be amazing. When the politicians start cranking out more hot air this summer, I’ll picket them with a sign “We want fruit salad Not word salad”
Thanks for the reminder of one of the great compensations for hot weather.
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The variety of summer fruits grown in the USA is amazing, isn’t it? Of the ones you mention, I especially like cherries, the ones that used to be called bing cherries. For some reason, they have a different name now.
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Did you see they found a bunch of bottles full of cherries, in the cellar of Mount Vernon? George must’ve hidden them there after he chopped down his father’s cherry trees.
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So, I am not alone in my dislike of the heat. I do agree regarding the delicious Georgia peaches.
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I grew up in the New York City region, which can get very hot in summer. We didn’t have air conditioning. I imagine that most people didn’t, back then. These days, though, I wouldn’t be happy to not have A/C.
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The perfect peach can definitely change your perspective! 🍑
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Absolutely.
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Thank you for the reminder about peaches. I recall my parents purchasing wooden flat crates of the succulent fruit in the summertime. Mom canned them, and the rest were used fresh in desserts, slicing for breakfast cereal, or just messy eating from the hand.
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I could go for a nice big slice of peach pie right now.
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Oh my, yes!
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Great song! Peachy post!!!
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Hi Joyce, and thanks.
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It’s been hotter than heck in Maine, too. Last week was terrible, with temps in the high 90s. But like you, I am grateful for peaches. Ditto for watermelon. Sweet consolations.
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“Sweet consolations” — an excellent phrase!
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Peach lovers know that when the days grow longer and warmer, juicy, ripe peaches will soon be ready. If you’re buying from a grocery store or farmer’s market, knowing what to look for will ensure you choose ripe, flavorful peaches rather than disappointing, overripe or green peaches. Apparently, clingstone peaches are the ones that will leave you with sweet nectar dribbling down your chin. The flesh on these peaches clings to the pit and can be more cumbersome to remove, but they are softer, sweeter and juicier than their freestone cousins. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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I hadn’t known about the differences in peach types. Thanks for the info, Aiva. I appreciate it.
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yes, the peach truck came through and we are enjoying them!
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Excellent!
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Still love summer. Love the heat. But the mosquitoes…that’s a whole other story. Almost makes me dread summer.
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Mosquitos are bad, bad news. They can make things very miserable.
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Unless there’s a pool in my front yard (which there is not) then 75F is about my limit Neil. I think my state of WA may be one of the only areas right now that has fairly mild temps. I know the heat is coming and I’ll tolerate it for a few days but then it has to go Eastward 🙂 Peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream sounds really good right now!
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Hi Deb. I love peach cobbler too. When it’s made properly, it’s outstanding. Ditto for other types of cobblers.
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I am also in my senior years and still love summer, heat, and water whether it be beach or lake. However, with these new high temperatures, I am a little less in love with summer. I love your expression “ melt like ice cream.” Always witty.
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Don’t forget to use sunscreen!
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Happy summer, Neil! I’m looking forward to blueberry / raspberry picking in August in Michigan.
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That sounds like a good activity. Do you grow them yourself, or do you pick them on other people’s properties/farms?
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Michigan has a lot of farms that offer picking, so I go there.
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Love the song, and love peaches! My mother lived in upstate New York for a couple of decades (Corning), and we drove around the finger lakes when I visited. She swore by the superiority of Pennsylvania peaches over all others. After she moved here, we found a place about 45 minutes away that had Pennsylvania peaches for a month or so every year, and we made many a trip there and back.
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Hi Marian. I live in Pennsylvania, close to Philadelphia. I’m fairly sure the Pennsylvania peach crops haven’t started to come in yet. But I’m not entirely sure about that. I’m going to head to the internet and try to find out.
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This has convinced me to give summer another try.
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Go for it! By the way, i don’t know who this is. You’re listed as Anonymous.
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I believe we followed the same path of ageing though you didn’t mention skin issues. My dermatologist is on speed dial over here in CA.
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Yeah, all of the sunbathing i did in my younger days caused skin problems years later. Back then, sunblock didn’t exist.
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There used to be two seasons in the year for me—summer and not-summer. But I, too, have morphed as I aged to the point where the more moderate seasons hold the most appeal. There are delights still to be found in summer, though, as your piece points out so well.
I’ll resist the obvious peachy pun!
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Thank you for resisting!
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Try peaches & wine. Old Italian custom.
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That’s a good custom!
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Glad peaches rekindled your love of summer. For me its nectarines! 🙂 Maggie
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Hi Maggie. I used to eat plenty of nectarines. Then I started not liking them as much as before. But, I’m going to buy a nectarine or two soon. It’s time for me to start enjoying nectarines again!
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Hopefully you’ll love them again too 🙂
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Neil, few things are better than a ripe, sweet peach … but one of them is peach ice cream. It’s usually available for only a few weeks each summer, but it’s definitely worth searching for. If you can’t find it, homemade peach ice cream is sublime.
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Hi Donna. Do you remember Howard Johnson restaurants? When I was young, I’d get ice cream cones from HoJo’s. My favorite flavors were peach and banana.
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I always enjoy your essays! I’m not a summer person but there are things to look forward to and Farmers’ Markets are right up there. We had a wet, chilly spring so peaches are still not ready to be picked. But other veggies are ripe and ready! I have a friend who always looks forward to summer because of baseball!
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Right, baseball and summer go hand in hand. I’ve been watching more baseball on TV this year than I have in quite a while. That’s because the Philadelphia Phillies are having a great season so far. They are fun to watch.
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My tolerance is set WAY below 29 degrees! Anything much above 20 and I start to wilt like a lettuce. Fortunately I don’t have to worry about hot temperatures where I live.
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Even though I currently have a pretty good attitude about summer, I still like spring and autumn much more than summer, partly because of their lower temps.
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Getting older is #@$!awful but it’s better than the alternative, right? I love peaches too. Nothing beats a properly ripe & fresh peach. Conversely, nothing is worse that biting into a mealy, improperly ripened, out-of-season peach. So, enjoy them!
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You’re right about peaches: some of them are bad news. Luckily, I’ve had nothing but excellent peaches so far.
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Neil, like you, my body can no longer tolerate the excessive summer temperatures. Summer was once my favorite season of the year for basking in the sunshine. Nowadays, outdoor gardening must be deferred to the late afternoon. I’ve grown to love peaches, so that’s a plus 🙂
Enjoy your summer getaway with Sandy to rural upstate New York and a beach house in Delaware!
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Yeah, I’m pretty certain I won’t be lying on a blanket under a summer Sun at any time in my remaining years.
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Just read the article “Heat Is Killing Thousands, and Big Events Have Not Adjusted” published today in The New York Times. It looks like our summer holidays will have to become spring or fall holidays.
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Funny, but my love of summer has waned, too — for the opposite reason. I grew up in the temperate Santa Clara Valley, where summers were a joy. In San Francisco, where I live now, they’re often cold, foggy, and windy, especially in my neighborhood on the west side of the city. But I suppose that makes the rare sunny day an absolute delight — like Christmas in June! Also, I was never a peach fan until I tasted one at a market in Tuscany with my father in the late ’90s. It was so luscious and dreamy that it changed my life!
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Hi. Are the peaches in Italy better than those grown in your state?
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The Italian produce did seem superior. But maybe I just hadn’t had a farmers market peach in CA. Maybe they’d all been from Safeway, which has subpar produce. Since Italy I’ve become a huge farmers market customer!
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That song simply needs you to move to it..any big shade trees handy?
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It’s pretty shady in my backyard. That’s where I’ll dance to this Allman Brothers song!
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As I like to say, “my internal compass points north.” I remember a time when I loved summer, even after I was “grown up” and working, with only a week or two of vacation to fully enjoy the summer sun. For the last 10-15 years, fall has been my favorite season. In this extreme heat, I’m inside most of the time, at least during the day. My dog, who is lazily lying at my feet right now, feels the same.
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Fall is my favorite season too. There’s something mellow about it.
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But I love peaches and all the other summer bounty!
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Right, it’s very great.
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Georgia has the better advertising campaign, but as we’ve learned since living down here, South Carolina is the king of peaches (more than three times the production of Georgia). My favorite way to eat a peach is sliced and hot, in a homemade pie. My mother had a way with fruit pies; cherry my favorite, with peach a close second. I’m writing about apricots this week Nice coincidence about summer fruits.
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Hi Dave. Apricots! From my teenage years into my 40s, I ate millions of dried apricots (the ones from California, not from Turkey). And I’m not even sure why I stopped eating them. I ate lots of other dried fruits back then too. Dried pears and dried peaches, for instance But dried apricots were my favorite.
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Never been able to stick heat…..the summer here finds me in the shade on the balcony enjoying a breeze…and I wish I had a peach to go with it!
When in France we had espaliered peach trees on a sunny wall….eaten just picked and sun warm they were a delight! Enjoy your gadabout summer!
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It must have been wonderful to have peach trees on your property. Did the trees produce lots of peaches?
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Every year…the apricots though, were biennial. We had figs and mulberries too…
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Stone fruit just screams Summer. I am a peach fan too, but nectarines are my absolute favorite. Enjoy all that deliciousness…out of the sun. Mel
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Howdy, Mel. Several people have told me that they love nectarines. I haven’t had a nectarine in ages. I will buy and eat one soon.
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I so hope it adds to your summery vibe. Bon appetit
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Peaches don’t grow in our part of India, and the ones I’ve had, from the north, weren’t so good. I love apricots though. And highly recommend mangoes of you can get them. Here we’re just at the end of a delicious season with mangoes coming out through our ears!
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I like mangoes. Haven’t had one in a long time. I’ll buy one if I find them at my local supermarket.
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I’m ambivalent about summer. I love certain aspects of the season, like the fruits and flowers. On the other hand, since I work outdoors and by necessity have to learn to cope with the heat rather than escaping it: well. You can imagine. I go by heat index rather than temperature, and when it hits 105F, I’m indoors.
Peaches are a fine consolation, though. There’s a small orchard here where pick-your-own is possible. There’s nothing better than juice dripping down my chin from a sunwarmed peach fresh from the tree.
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Hi. I’d love to have a peach that I picked off a tree. You know, I’m going to head to the interrnet and try to find out if there are any peach orchards within a reasonable distance from my house. I don’t think there are, but I could be wrong.
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I average 2-3 peaches a day in July and August.
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You’re a peach-aholic!
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As a baby GenX/elder Xennial, my go-to Peach song is “Peaches” by The Presidents of the United States of America, a great bop from 1996!
I grew up loving summer, too, but as I get older it is definitely harder. I find that if I avoid it too much it makes it harder so I try to go out and keep my body used to it. It’s easier if I just accept I’m going to sweat.
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Hi, Misti. I’m currently sort of taking your approach to summer. I’ve gone out for a few 20- or- 30- minute walks. The temps have been high and the Sun has been powerful, but I’m trying to get my body at least a little bit used to those conditions.
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It is ironic to read this just a few hours after being handed a food magazine by my wife, with peaches featured on the cover. Mrs. Chess loves peaches in the summer, and we eventually decided on a peach muffin recipe to give a go over the weekend. Neil, I wish I could share a sunny outlook on Summer but it is and always will play runner-up to my Fall and Winters. I don’t mind going out in the heat and humidity, and I even like to mow the lawn (when we have one and we don’t right now…) in the Summer, but I definitely await cooler, crisper air…and of course, those peach muffins on-deck! Great post.
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Hi Bruce. Man, mowing the lawn takes it out of me if the temperature is above 72 degrees or so and if the Sun is blazing away. I ain’t what I used to be!
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As long as I have a very cold beverage nearby (water!), I don’t mind taking the heat on the lawn. That being said, I’d SO rather be mowing with those autumn leaves coming down.🍁
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Love it!
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Thanks.
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Having raised three Georgia Peaches (kids, not fruit) in beautiful downtown Decatur, I thought I knew heat. Not so sure. Last week in Manhattan I made one trip around the Reservoir on a 90+ degree morning and that was enough. 🥵 Happy to be back in 60-some degree SF, eating peaches just in from Georgia. Enjoyed the music! (And the tale, as always.)
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Eating Georgia peaches under comfortable conditions is a winning situation. Hi Fran. Thanks for stopping by. Take care.
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I’m not a fan of extreme heat, but I do prefer Summer over Winter, I guess because I seem to tolerate it better. And I also love peaches! They, along with watermelon and strawberries, are among the best parts of Summer!
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I guess I’d pick summer over winter too. That’s my current opinion. It’s subject to change!
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I’m glad you’ve reconciled with my fave season! We have some of the best peaches in Ontario, so they’re definitely worth waiting for too!
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Hi. I doubt if Canadian peaches find their way to stores in my area, though I guess you never know. But Canadian blueberries sometimes are sold around here.
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