Writer James Dent put it well: “A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”

I’ve gone him one better. I gave my lawn mower away. How else to take full advantage of the “103 Days and Nights of Summer” in Ohio this year? It’s my job, you know.

Once again, our editors have surveyed the best opportunities to enjoy the beauty, the adventure and the fun of summer in the Buckeye State. And once again, they have compiled a vacation calendar that can’t be duplicated anywhere else.

Sarah Palin may consider us to be one of the “lower 49,” but we Ohioans know that, once summer arrives, no other state outshines us.

Where else can you celebrate Grandparents’ Day with fresh ice cream at a dairy? (Young’s Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs, June 8)? Or Father’s Day with a construction theme (Hard Hat Day at the Cleveland Zoo, June 20)? And how much sweeter does it get than a festival featuring the sweetest of sweet treats (Strawberry Festival in London, June 24)? Where else to take a faster trip down the Memory Highway (Cruise Night in downtown Wauseon, June 29)?

Each of these trips, by the way, is a relatively short drive from home — no matter where you live in the 88 counties that best define the American spirit.

Take a blanket to relax on and a flag to hold, and head to fireworks displays in cities and towns across the state. One we particularly like combines the cool sounds of the blues and the cool sights of the waves (Red White and Blues Bang, along the banks of Lake Erie at the Huron Road Basin, July 4).

A couple of weeks later, marvel at another kind of blues — The Blue Angels — in a different kind of aerial spectacular (Vectren Dayton Air Show at Dayton International Airport, July 17).

And who cares about a Tiger when you can have a dinosaur? Forget Augusta in Georgia — we’re talking August in Ohio, where you can visit a dinosaur museum and get in 18 rounds, too (Jurassic Journey at Burning Tree Golf Course in Newark, August 1).

When you’re finished swinging, get hopping (Frog Jump Festival in Valley City, August 15). Then go swimming, biking and running (Hueston Woods Triathlon and Duathlon at Hueston Woods State Park in College Corner, August 29).

Still kicking? Usher in the next season where football rules and so do we (Ohio State Buckeyes in pre-season action against the Marshall Thundering Herd, September 2).

Really, now. It’s summer in Ohio. Isn’t it time you gave your lawn mower to your son-in-law?