Color-coding my core summer memories

On sweltering summer days, my sisters and I would brave the heat of the garage and make our way to the extra freezer, rifling through a bag of off-brand Otter Pops for our favorite colors.

There was an understanding that blue was the best, but my favorite runner-ups were pink and red. Orange was often the last color left... Who even likes artificial orange taste?

When I sift through what summer is to me informed by basic colors, I don't have a clear favorite. Like layers of paint, each builds to a bigger picture.

Red are the days when a wildfire pumps the air with smoke, turning the sun a rosy hue. Or, it's the lifeguard floaty that I clung to during junior lifeguard summer camp. Or, perhaps, it's the flesh of watermelon, turned into the countless watermelon smoothies I drank to withstand Korea's humid months during university.

Yellow are the flowers of the invasive Scotch broom plant that blooms in early summer. Or, it's the Country Time Lemonade that fueled my friends and I after playing and basking in the sun. Or, the ripe squash in my mom's garden, ready to be cut from the vine.

Green is the color of my favorite ice cream — pistachio saffron rose — from Treats ice cream shop in my hometown Nevada City, California. Or, the emerald green waters of the Yuba River that was my childhood go-to spot for summer swimming. Or, the dark green bottle of aloe vera gel I apply to my inevitable sunburns.

Light brown is a bowl of naengmyeon, a Korean dish of chewy buckwheat noodles served in an icy cold, vinegary broth. Or, it's the perfect golden outer layer of marshmallows roasted at a campfire.

Blue is the color I saw before I pinched my nose and jumped from the diving board into community pools. Or, it's the most perfect batch of blueberries bought from the public market in Vancouver, Canada, on my last summer vacation before university.

Dark purple is the color of the sky once the Fourth of July finale has finished and gunpowder smoke burns nostrils.

My palette has more room for summer memories, ones I look forward to adding each year. Now it's your turn — what colors do you choose? ♦

Siemers Farm Strawberry Festival @ Siemers Farm

Saturdays, Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Continues through June 29
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Dora Scott

Dora Scott is the Inlander’s food writer, joining the editorial team in 2024. She moved to Spokane from her hometown in Grass Valley, California, where she worked as the special sections manager at The Union newspaper. Dora graduated from Yonsei University’s Underwood International College in South Korea, where...