Click to enlarge Mary Jane Farmer

There's other sure signs ... my daughter's air conditioner went out at her house, grass is growing at a rate faster than I can pay the yardmen to mow it, and food tastes have changed from fried stuff to fresh produce. It's just too darn hot already to cook, and salads are a summer staple.

The dog has fleas and the mosquitos, flies, water bugs and fire ants are invading like Cox's army.

Used to be, I and my brothers kicked off summer by jumping from the boat dock into the 72-degree, crystal clear waters of the San Marcos River. We dove in at sunrise and Mama made us get out at dark. She bought us more bathing suits each summer than shorts, and we only needed one pair of shoes for those occasional walks to town for the movies.

Summer TV re-runs used to be a problem, but now that's not confined to just summer. They re-run a lot all year round. Also, there's new episodes aired for some series in the summer.

Summer is a time of music festivals. Even though it can be hot at festivals, it's never as hot as when out there mowing that grass!

"Summer has set in with its usual severity." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

'nuf said.

Happy birthday Friday to Clemmie Scoggins, Shirley Swindle, Marlie Willeford, Rosalind Calhoun, Freida Niblet, Sincere Ellis, Howard Evans and Janelle SamJuan Luper, all of Sherman; Sue Roberson and Dennis Eldon Hill, both of Denison; Donald Ray Lyons of Colbert, Okla.; Mina Hensley and Allen Pierce, both of Bells; Martha James of Savoy; Nelda Judkins McCall of Lancaster; Sasha Bennett of Allen; Austin Hill of Durant.

Happy anniversary Friday to Tom and Jackie Wilks of Sherman 51 years; Bill and Peggy Parker of Sherman, 40 years; Joe and Debbie Chancellor of Whitesboro, 29 years; Mike and Cindy Dobbs of Denison, 27 years; Gerald and Latice Rutherford of Sherman, 23 years.

Happy "Fourth of July" birthday Saturday to Cassie Davidson, Bobby Nelson Sr., Jimmy Howard Cummings, Rosie Stevenson, Mary Adams, Nathaniel Southern and Lawrence Williams, all of Sherman; Jean Matthews and Hazel Means, both of Denison; Jayson Killough of Rockwall; Becky Welch of Sherwood, Ark.; Lynn Giles of Houston; Zack Wilks of Howe; Dr. Wayne King of Dorchester; Karen Kyle of Wichita Falls; Krystal Wilkirson of Wilson, Texas.

Happy "Fourth of July" anniversary Saturday to Gordon and Darlene Duke of Sherman, 36 years; Todd and Theresa Hutchinson of Sherman, 17 years; Bill and Elizabeth Hall of Tom Bean, 4 years; Tommy and Kristi Wilks of Howe; Verne and June Kingsbury of Winter Gardens, Fla.