6/14/2021 | This resource was created by Abigail Schmid and Kate Reilly.
Summertime will sizzle on the Duke Farms Distance Learning Portal through an eclectic array of environmental topics that feature the sights, sounds, and smells of this sensational season as was artistically captured in Dunbar’s historical work. We hope that you are inspired to find your own nature-based adventures and create reflections and memories to last a lifetime.
Summer in the South
The Oriole sings in the greening grove
As if he were half-way waiting,
The rosebuds peep from their hoods of green,
Timid, and hesitating.
The rain comes down in a torrent sweep
And the nights smell warm and pinety,
The garden thrives, but the tender shoots
Are yellow-green and tiny.
Then a flash of sun on a waiting hill,
Streams laugh that erst were quiet,
The sky smiles down with a dazzling blue
And the woods run mad with riot.
Paul Laurence Dunbar, born in 1872, is the author of numerous collections of poetry and prose.
He is one of the first African American poets to gain national recognition.
The Raritan River has played a huge role in history by providing people with food, drinking water, and even allowing for travel and trade. According to the historical timeline published by Rutgers University, the original residents of the Raritan River were the Lenape in ~year 1,000. The Lenape were the sole inhabitants of the land until 1683 when European settlers came and made use of the land's fertile soil and river.
Cover image credits:
"Raritan River" by Sankar Govind CC BY 2.0