My favorite season is any season that’s about to begin.

I look forward to winter at about October, spring at about March (this year it was at about January), fall at about August and summer, oh, right about now.

Even though it doesn’t officially begin until June 21, the summer always kicks off, as far as I’m concerned, with the opening of the blockbuster movie season.

That season kicked off this past week with the release of X-Men: Wolverine and continues for the next few months with Star Trek and Terminator and G.I. Joe.

Summer is the time for barbecues, sitting out on the deck or the patio, graduations and students trading yearbooks and writing, “have a neat summer.”

I’m looking forward to my first full summer in Minnesota because I missed most of it last year. I arrived in August, in time for the green grass and the corn and some golf, but too late for pretty much everything else.

This year, though, I plan to do it right.

I’m looking forward to Minnesota in May, Austin’s annual barbecue festival set for May 15-16 that features several new additions this year, including an “Anything Spam,” competition.

I’m looking forward to attending the Pine Island Cheese Fest the second weekend in June. Pine Island isn’t in Mower County, but for many, this celebration kicks off the smalltown festivals for the summer.

I’m looking forward to the return of Sunflower Daze this year in Dexter and Dairy Days in Adams in June.

I’m also looking forward to Austin’s Fourth of July Freedom Fest and to Hey Days in Hayfield, planned for July 24 to 26.

Events for this year’s Hey Days include the street dances both Friday and Saturday nights and live music by “The Underachievers” and “Next to Nothing” respectively. Also scheduled for the weekend will be a carnival, a parade and a community worship service.

“I think it’s just nice to have something local going on where you don’t have to travel,” said Lana Mindrup, president of the Hayfield Celebrations Committee. “We’re really trying to focus on having a lot of family and kid-oriented type of stuff going on.”

And finally, I’m also looking forward to my first Mower County Fair and snacking on a Wonder Bar or two, the ice cream bar Herald reporter Lee Bonorden raves about.

So even though we’ve only had one 90-degree day for 2009, summer, as far as I’m concerned, has arrived.

So marinate the steak and the chicken, crank up the D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and, well, have a neat summer.