Citrus

Orange eclipse, I can taste your lips / In the citrus afternoon / If you can fly, don't stop at the sky / 'Cause there's footprints on the Moon ~Owl City, Yacht Club


This was a very citrus afternoon. 


After juicing all those limes yesterday, it was little to no work at all to combine their lip-puckering sweetness with a few other ingredients. 


Two key lime pies now sit in my refrigerator, patiently awaiting their raspberry-syrup-and-whipped-creme-topped debut at tomorrow's family 4th of July celebration. 


(If you want the recipe I used, check out Olivia's blog here. For my own lime-juicing adventures, check out yesterday's post!)


Summer and citrus truly do go hand in hand. 


Lemonade on a sultry hot day, sitting on a porch swing with your best friend, laughing and sipping your tart beverage as the ice clinks gently against the glass...


...a sweet lemon ice and fresh raspberry smoothie, toes wiggling just under the surface of a relative's swimming pool, the breeze blowing just enough to cool your skin and ruffle your hair...


...and yes, even a slice of fresh, homemade key lime pie on the 4th of July, enjoying the sour-sweet firework show occurring on your tongue, a delightful precursor to the firework show coming when the sun finally slips below the horizon and the American sky goes navy blue. 


Perhaps I will forever associate my own patriotism with the aroma and taste of key lime pie, and with the feel of fingers made wrinkling by the acidic juice sinking into my skin. 

One of my own finished pies
Photo by DramticElegance

Perhaps summer will always be citrus fireworks to me.


Perhaps that is how it should be.


Because isn't that what summer is, really?


A combination of the bitter and sweet...moments of joy as lifetime memories are made, and outstretched fingers of heartbreak as so many things change. 


Summer is tart and acidic. 


Beautiful and full of sweetness and life. 


Summer is citrus.


And that's how it will always be. 


I wish that we could sail our sad days away / Forever / In deep blue seas of paper mâché / Let's dance in the moonlight / A barracuda chased our dog days away / Forever / Let's sink or swim 'til we fall in love / And dance in the moonlight / When we join the yacht club. ~Owl City, Yacht Club

Fresh

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? ~Albert Einstein 


Turning me loose in a grocery store in midsummer is dangerous. 


The bushels, baskets, and various bins filled to the brim with fresh fruit is almost enough to send me into a whirl of delight. 


There is something about the kiss of fresh fruit juice against my tongue, flowing down my throat in a rush of fluid sweetness, that is just the epitome of summertime refreshment. 


Can you imagine a world without the tart sweetness of kiwis and raspberries...


...the acidic refreshment of pineapples and oranges...


...the pure lusciousness of cherries and strawberries...


...the overflowing juiciness of peaches and mangoes...


...what kind of world would this be to live in without the tantalizing refreshment of fruit?


So much joy can be found in wandering through the fragrant orchards, groves, and berry patches of spring and summertime...wicker basket in hand, surrounded by luscious freshness waiting to be picked.  


The gifts from Heaven are abundant in nature -- love and affection from friends, summery breezes and the softness of grass between my toes...the list goes on and on. 


But fruit?


This is a gift that was once our downfall and is now our delight. 


The shame that was brought on mankind by a sinful bite will be renewed in the Garden of the Lord. 


Fruit is more than a summertime pleasure.


It is a reminder of things to come in the Heavenly realms.


And this increases its delight tenfold. 


"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse..." ~Revelation 22:1-3