By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

The temperatures of late would make it seem summer had already begun, but according to the astronomical calendar summer officially began Tuesday.

Well, actually, summer actually began with the summer solstice that occurred Tuesday 1:16 p.m. EDT (17:16 UTC), when the sun was “as high as an elephant’s eye” - as high in the sky as possible. It was the longest day of the entire year – just a fraction of a second longer of daylight that the day before and even today.

So, on the first official day summer, we celebrated with kids at the swimming pool and lots of America’s favorite pastime being played by kids at the Sports Complex. It was a good first day of summer.

Look on the bright side: with the longest day of the year behind us, we can look forward to longer evenings spent on the deck or front porch counting lightening bugs, enjoying big, tall glasses of sweet tea and the company of family and friends.

But, on the other hand, it’s summer in the Bootheel. Sweltering, sweaty and sultry. Summer.

Of course, this all means that if we aren't swatting mosquitoes then we're going to thermostat to crank the air conditioning a bit or taking the third shower of the day or trying to find yet another recipe for yellow squash.

It's summer in the Bootheel, thank you very much!

Summer songs coming to mind? Songs to hum while counting lightening bugs or swatting mosquitoes? At the top of Billboard’s list of “Top 30 Summer Songs of All Time,” are “Surfin’ Safari” (The Beach Boys, 1962), “Summertime” (Billy Stewart, 1966), “Wipeout” (Fat Boys and The Beach Boys, 1987), “Cruel Summer” (Bananarama, 1983) and “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran, 1958).

At the top of Entertainment Weekly’s “100 Greatest Summer Songs of All Time,” are “Summer in the City” (The Lovin’ Spoonful, 1966), “California Girls” (The Beach Boys, 1965), “School’s Out” (Alice Cooper, 1972), “Heat Wave” (Martha and the Vandellas, 1963) and “Under the Boardwalk” (The Drifters, 1964).

Good tunes to celebrate the start of summer. Enjoy!

ShowMe Times Photo Gallery

By Annabeth Miiler,
ShowMe Times Editor

When Caitlin Pyle was growing up in Dexter, she probably never imagined that her studies and career path would lead her to Northern California and a marine mammal center. But lo and behold, that’s exactly where the Dexter native is spending her summer.

Caitlin is interning at the Northcoast Marine Mammal Center in Crescent City, Calif. It’s a long way from the corn and soybean fields of Stoddard County where she was raised.

Caitlin is the daughter of Darrell and Toni Pyle and is a 2006 graduate of Dexter High School. She graduated in 2010 from John Brown University in Siloam Springs, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a field emphasis.

Since graduating from college Caitlin has “tested the waters” so-to-speak through internships. She completed two internships in 2010 – at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash. Now she is in Crescent City, working at the small marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation center. She began work there the second week in June, and her first night on the job brought a bit of excitement.

“During the 8 p.m. feed (4th and final feed of the day) we were told about an animal not too far from the center that looked weak and was on the beach,” Caitlin said. “A couple of the other workers went to assess it, and then determined that it needed to be brought in for care.”

The animal was an underweight, young Northern Elephant Seal with large gashes around his rear flippers.

“We loaded up the truck with a crate and other equipment needed for loading up the animal,” she said. “By using ‘herd boards’ we were able to coax it into the crate and carry it back to the truck. Once back at the center we weighed him (113 lbs.), gave him electrolytes by tubing him, and cleaned his wounds.”

The next day Caitlin and the staff were able to draw blood and check the seal for infections and diseases. But Caitlin said the seal was strong and a fast learner.

“After only a couple days he began eating fish on his own,” she reports. “It was an exciting end to a first day and gave me an early look at what this career would involve. It was great to quickly see how we help the animals in need.”

Caitlin reports the seal has been improving and will most likely be released soon.

“It is neat to be able to follow an animal through from rescue to release,” she commented.

The facility at Crescent City is a small marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation center covering the northern California coastline. And Caitlin reports that different times of the year bring in different species. They currently have Pacific Harbor Seal pups, young Northern Elephant Seals, and a California Sea Lion.

“During this three month internship I will assess stranded animals, assist with rescuing sick or injured animals, feed the animals (sometimes by tube-feeding), clean their pools and pens, assist with vet work by administering medications and treatments, and assist with releasing rehabilitated animals ready to return to the wild,” she said of the new internship.

While she is not certain of her career path, she says the internships have been a big help in helping her make those all-important career decisions.

“My internships have definitely helped guide me and confirm that this is the field I want to work in,” she commented. “I really enjoyed my zoo/aquarium internships, but so far I am liking the rescue and rehab aspect even more. The animals you work with change often, and you get new cases brought in to figure out so the routine is constantly changing.”

She said she changed career path plans during college – as most college students do (at least once!). She decided she wanted something a little more “hands on” – and she has always been fascinated with the oceans and the animals that live in the oceans.

“Obviously, Southeast Missouri does not provide much opportunity for work in the marine field,” she said. “I've had to search the country to follow my dreams, but look at the places it has taken me.”

Photos Above: Top Photo: Caitlin on the California coast. Middle Photo: Rasputin the California Sea Lion Bottom Photo: The Trio of friends - Caitlin, Kristen Bush and Heather Waddle. Kristen and Heather joined Caitlin on her cross-county journey to Crescent City, Calif.

It was a great day for fishing! And some of the folks from the Missouri Veteran’s Home in Cape Girardeau had the chance to do some great Stoddard County on Friday.

Thanks to the staff at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery near Bloomfield and the men and women of American Legion Post No. 59 in Dexter, a fishing outing was held for the veterans at the Cape Girardeau. The veterans got to soak up some the sunshine, cast a line into the pond at the cemetery, and catch some good Stoddard County fish. On hand to help were American Legion members and cemetery staff, as well as staff from the Stoddard County Ambulance District.

And the best part is that the fish were cleaned and a fish fry held for all. Fish, hush puppies and all the fixin’s and plenty of home baked sweet treats were served. The American Legion Auxiliary was in charge of the fish fry and provided all the baked goods and prepared the fish, hush puppies and fries.

The Missouri Veterans Cemetery staff and the American Legion post try to sponsor at least one of the fishing outings a summer for the veterans at the Missouri Veterans Home.

Thanks to ShowMe Times reader Tom Love for the great photos of the veterans outing! Thanks, Tom!!

Photo Gallery

Dexter has some wonderful parks, and one of the "hidden gems" of these green spaces in the city is Sugar Plum Park. The park is located on Williams Street, between Grant and Fannetta.

Sugar Plum was donated to the city by the Morgan family in the 1960s, and is designed as a park for young people. New equipment was purchased some years ago through a grant from the state. The large play set includes two slides and all sorts of twists and turns for younger children. And the entire set is positioned on a cushioned, play-safe surface made of recycled material.

Earlier this week this youngsters in first grade at Southwest Elemetary walked the short distance to Sugar Plum park for a noontime outing.

The kids romped and played at the park, enjoying the playground equipment and the green "gum balls" that have fallen from the park's trees.

The outing was a new adventure for the kids - and a discovery of one of Dexter's "great little" parks. The youngsters are all students of Shannon Putnam and Heather Ryan.(SMT photos by Annabeth Miller)

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. – Three Rivers College will host the Imperial Theatre Company’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” this Saturday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m.

The company’s home facilities in Pocahontas, Ark., were damaged in the April flooding of the Black River.

“The entire building was sitting in 36 inches of water,” said Andee Evers, founder of the Studio for the Arts, the non-profit that owns and operates the Imperial Theatre. “We lost everything from furniture to office records to dance studio flooring. It’s been devastating, but we’ve seen an incredible amount of support from the community and from volunteers who have donated time and labor to start repairs.”

In order for the company to continue its production run of “Joseph,” which opened in March, Three Rivers College is allowing the Imperial Theatre to use its facilities at the Tinnin Fine Arts Center free of charge. All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward the rehabilitation of the Imperial Theatre building in Pocahontas.

“We saw this as an opportunity to do the public a service,” said Dr. Wesley Payne, Vice President for Learning at Three Rivers. “We’re giving the company a great place to perform, and we’re bringing a great show to Poplar Bluff.”

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” is the high-energy retelling of the story of Joseph and his multi-colored coat from the book of Genensis. With music and lyrics by Tim Rice and musical theatre legend Andrew Lloyd Webber, the show continues to be popular among families and church-going audiences.

The Imperial Theatre Company has been producing its popular dinner theatre shows in Pocahontas for over 15 years. Evers calls the group a regional theatre company, stating that audiences come faithfully to see their shows from Jonesboro, Paducah, and even Memphis. Professionally-trained actors are featured in a variety of productions, and kept on staff to coach the over 200 students who participate in acting and dance classes at the Studio for the Arts.

“We’re excited to be coming back to Poplar Bluff,” said Evers. “In past years, we’ve taken different shows on the road, and we’ve performed “Grease” and “Blood Brothers” there. We can’t thank Three Rivers enough for allowing us this opportunity.” Tickets are $12 each and will be available

at the door on the evening of the production. Dinner will not be included with this performance, which begins at 7:30 in the auditorium of the Tinnin Fine Arts Center on the Three Rivers campus in Poplar Bluff.