Over the past year I’ve interviewed spring, autumn, and winter. Today I’m back with an exclusive interview with summer!
Lydia: …
Summer: …
Lydia: So about the pineapple head. Didn’t we agree that you’d show up in human form today?
Summer: Technically, yes. Since pineapple heads are more interesting, I decided to improvise.
Lydia: Okay, will I be talking to a pineapple for this entire interview?
Summer: Maybe, maybe not. But at least I’m not perpetually late like spring is! I even showed up early this year.
Lydia: I can’t even argue with that. You made your presence well known in May and June. What have you been up to?
Summer: Growing and stuff.
Lydia: Yes, that is what you’re known for. Can you tell me more about how that process works? Spring and Autumn have both talked about how much effort you three put into the growing season.
Summer: The plants are the ones doing most of the heavy lifting there. We mostly just need to keep them on task. Jack Frost and Mother Nature used to help us set the schedule there. It’s gotten trickier now that the climate is changing so quickly, but at least some of the plants like heat waves.
Lydia: You don’t seem very concerned. I’m surprised. Some of your coworkers had a very different approach to this problem.
Summer: I’m concerned about my heat-sensitive plants and animals, but I can’t fix anything. It’s up to you humans to figure out how strong you want your summers to be. You do seem to be improving lately, though.
Lydia: Yeah, we’ve been staying home more as a species.
Summer: Well, that’s good! I hope it lasts. Winter hasn’t been looking too good these past few decades. I work better when I have a stronger foe.
Lydia: Is that how you think of the other seasons?
Summer: Obviously. Isn’t this all a contest to figure out why summer is the best season of them all?
Lydia: Yeah, I don’t think that’s how any of this works.
Summer: Okay, so we grow food, too. But mostly it’s a contest and I’m winning. That’s all that matters.
Lydia: Don’t you ever think about the paperwork or logistics involved? Do the other seasons know this is how you act?
Summer: What’s understood doesn’t need to be explained.
Lydia: Wait, why are there two of you now?
Summer: Technically, you’re not talking to a pineapple anymore. You’re talking to two of us which means I’m following the rule.
Lydia: You like to look for technicalities, don’t you?
Summer: It’s by far the best way to spend your summer. I mean, how else are humans going to count ice cream sandwiches as dinner or decide they don’t need to wear sunscreen at the beach after all?
Lydia: I don’t even know anymore.
Summer: Now you’re getting the spirit.
Lydia: This wasn’t what I was expecting, but somehow you’re exactly who you needed to be.
Summer: Thank you.
Lydia: No, thank you. This interview has been very illuminating.
Summer: I aim to please.
One of my college professors sent us out to eavesdrop as part of a creative writing assignment. We were instructed to write down the conversation and then analyze the flow of it in order to make the dialogue in our stories more realistic in the future.
Listening to the way people really speak was also incredibly informative. The conversation I overheard was filled with friendly interruptions and all sorts of detours into other, mostly-related topics.
None of these anecdotes have made it into one of my stories (yet?), but they have taught me about the ways people think and how many different ways the same tale can be told depending on whose perspective you look at.
Earlier this year I learned that May is Expanded Science Fiction and Fantasy Month. This challenge is a simple one. Pick any science fiction or fantasy universe and read or watch stories that were set in it but that were not part of the original canon.
No, it isn’t set in the Star Trek universe, but it’s easy to forget that since it was written by folks who were clearly well-versed in what the storytelling was like at this point in Star Trek history and who were fans of it.
My name is Lydia, and I’m a human houseplant.
Last year I interviewed 
Winter: It sure does. Sometimes I wonder if I’m even finally going to meet Summer one of these days. Spring and summer say we have oddly similar personalities.
Lydia: What can you tell me about 
Vintage Science Fiction
All of the Original series Star Trek episodes are available on Netflix in Canada. I’d recommend watching this episode before checking out the rest of my post unless you don’t mind spoilers from a 50+ year old tv show.
Every year I take the last two week of December off from serious blogging, so here’s a lighthearted topic for today that I’ve been slowly compiling since last winter.
My earliest memory involves an apple tree.
Occasionally, I wander away from the usual topics on this site to share personal stories from my life. Today is one of those days.
When I was about seven, my family was surprised by Halloween. A few neighbourhood kids knocked on our door to say trick-or-treat one night. We had nothing sweet to give them at first until my dad remembered his small stash of 
My family started celebrating secular Halloween when I was eleven. By that time, we’d moved into a neighbourhood that was known for its generosity, so the streets were packed with families from other areas as well as from our own.
About six months ago, I sat down with 
Lydia: Not to change the subject, but I do have a few questions about the holidays that are celebrated while you’re in charge. What do you think of them? Do you have any favourites?