During the abbreviated days of winter, there is usually only enough daylight to do one to two things a day. Sometimes just a single trip to DMV will use up a whole day. With the stars coming out on the commute home from work, it takes a lot of motivation to leave home after dinner.

That’s what makes summertime so great. In the summer, active Monterey County residents can wake up early, hit the beach, take a hike, and swim in a river before lunch. On a weekday, working stiffs can get a few hours of recreation after a full day at the office.

And it is true that a little bit of recreation really gets the blood flowing. After a day outside, people want to keep the action going, so they head out to catch some of the county’s many summertime entertainment events.

Monterey County’s special summer music events truly begin on June 19 with Diane Schuur’s headlining performance at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s indescribably cool Jazz at the Aquarium event. After a day checking out critters in the tide pools just north of Asilomar State Beach, go indoors to watch the Grammy Award-winning singer Schuur sing to the giant tuna. Schuur gained prominence at the 1979 Monterey Jazz Festival when she floored crowds with a searing rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Other Jazz at the Aquarium artists include Sadza, Sol Caribe, The Snake Trio and Kenny Stahl with Bob Basa. 648-4880.

Another way to see some sea life on June 19 is to watch Pixar’s Finding Nemo, the spectacular animated feature about a clown fish searching for his lost son, at the City of Carmel’s Sixth Annual Movie on the Beach. The movie will begin around 8:30pm at the 13th Avenue Cove on Carmel Beach. 620-2020.

With local ocean temperatures rarely topping 54 degrees, South Monterey County’s Lake San Antonio is a water lover’s paradise. Currently, the water temperature in the lake is already at 81 degrees. In Lake San Antonio Park, visitors can try and catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass or bluegills or they can dangle their footsies in the warm water and pretend to be on a tropical island. 472-2311.

In the summer, between south swells, the local surf can be pretty small. During these surf droughts, it is a good time to dust off the old skateboard. On June 20, the guys at Sixty-Eight Skate are putting on a skate demo. In addition to watching the shop’s team riders on quarter pipes, boxes and rails, there will be free hot dogs and hamburgers; samples of Brazilian energy drink Zola Acai; and music by DJ Travis Carter. After watching the action, skateboarders are invited to tear it up on the ramps. 648-3300.

To celebrate summer’s long days, a local bicycle enthusiast named Jim Wrona is organizing the Longest Day Bike Ride for June 20 (though the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice, is actually the next day). This will be a casual bike ride based on a monthly event that happens in San Luis Obispo. Wrona says that participants will probably only ride for a couple of miles, and so he encourages riders to leave their fancy high-tech bikes at home and instead bring their classic cycles. Wrona will be pulling out his 1968 Schwinn Stingray, a classic “hot rod” bicycle, for this event.

Interested cyclists should meet at Turtle Bay Taqueria, 431 Tyler St. in Monterey, at 6:30pm. 633-1819.

The biggest music event in June is definitely the world famous Monterey Bay Blues Festival on the 25th, 26th and 27th. Since 1986, the festival has hosted blues legends like John Lee Hooker, B.B. King and James Brown. This year’s artists includes soul singer Solomon Burke, Etta James and Ashford&Simpson.

After last year’s festival, which featured popular musicians like Al Green, The Temptations and the Average White Band, Monterey Blues Festival spokesman Glenn Maxon says the 2004 concert returns to a strong, primarily blues lineup. 394-2652.

According to National Weather Service forecaster Bob Benjamin, July is usually the foggiest month of the year on the Monterey Peninsula. That’s why it’s a good time for Peninsula dwellers to head out to the Forest Service campground and day use area at Arroyo Seco, where temperatures regularly hover around 100 degrees. With Monterey County’s premiere swimming hole, “the Gorge,” just a mile hike in on the Arroyo Seco-Indians Road, this recreation area is the place to avoid another foggy day on the Peninsula. 674-5726.

On July 4, runners can prepare for the barbecue and beer with the 10K run in Spreckels. The course, which starts on 3rd Street between Hatton Avenue and Llano Avenue, is a mostly flat series of loops on paved and dirt roads. Save some energy for the Spreckels 4th of July Celebration featuring a craft fair, live music and a Fireman’s Muster (a race between local firemen carrying fire apparatus). Participants can pre-register at The Treadmill, the Salinas Athletic Center, The Sports Zone, Joy-Per’s Shoes and online at www.active.com. 455-2211.

Summer Sundays can be the best. How about this: While throwing a Frisbee around in Seaside’s Laguna Grande Park, listen to some great blues music, courtesy of Rene Solis&the All Stars and Shane Dwight at the first installment of this year’s Sunday Blues Concerts on July 11. This year’s six-week series will go on to feature the James Dewrance Blues Band, Red Beans&Rice and Candye Kane. 899-6805.

After coating your body in the very finest sun block, catch the entire region’s greatest rock acts at the Eighth Annual Monterey Rock and Art Festival on July 17. This year’s local-heavy lineup includes The Remedy, The Expendables, Karma and Gary Moon’s All Star Band. New this year is a skateboarding demo from Sixty-Eight Skate team riders and a tattoo booth for those who want to adorn their bodies with the names of their favorite local groups. 917-0774.

On July 31, folk legend Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, a former traveling companion of both Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, celebrates his 73rd birthday at Big Sur’s Henry Miller Library. 667-2574.

After last year’s energetic show, David Grisman is returning to Carmel’s Sunset Center with his quintet on August 19. Grisman, a former member of the bluegrass group Old&In the Way with Jerry Garcia and Peter Rowan, is a master mandolin player. 620-2040.

For more downhome music, alternative country rockers Reckless Kelly play Carmel Valley’s Hidden Valley Theater on August 21. On last year’s album, Under the Table and Above the Stars, the Austin band sang songs about everything from skiing to The Beatles. 659-4344.

After a morning on Big Sur’s Pfeiffer Beach, cool down in the redwoods as New Orlean’s The Dirty Dozen Brass Band plays the Henry Miller Library on August 22. Featuring five horn players, the band covers traditional numbers like “Jesus on the Mainline.” 667-2574.

It is always a great time to take a tour of Big Sur’s Point Sur Lightstation, a 115-year-old structure perched on a rock high above the raging Pacific. But, in the summer, the docents at Point Sur offer an incredible experience with their special moonlight tours of the facility. In August, the two three-hour moonlight tours will take place on the 27th and the 29th. Make sure to ask about the ghost of a young girl who haunts the grounds on foggy summer evenings. 625-4419.

At noon on August 29th, drop by Seaside’s Laguna Grande Park for Magic 63’s Summer Musicfest 2004. This year, swing to the sounds of Steve Lucky&The Rhumba Bums, Wally’s Swing World and Dizzy Burnett&Grover Coe. 649-0969.

During June, July and August, plankton in Monterey Bay can give the ocean water a green tint, says Keith McNutt, manager of Bamboo Reef Dive Shop. Therefore September is perfect for a dive amongst the pinnacles and kelp forests in Point Lobos State Reserve. Though only 30 divers are allowed in the dive area at Whaler’s Cove at one time, weekdays in September usually have a few openings. 624-8413 or www.ptlobos.org.

After a long summer of arduous recreation, the buffest local athletes should be ready for Pacific Grove’s Seagate Triathlon on September 10 and 11. With a .93-mile ocean swim, a 24.8-mile bike race and a 6.2-mile ride, this competition should challenge the most fit überathletes. 373-0678.

Having entertained us all for three months, Summer will go out in style on September 17, as the Monterey Jazz Festival, the world’s longest- running jazz fest, returns for its 47th year. This year’s varied artists include Bobby McFerrin, Buddy Guy, tap dancer Savion Glover, young Sacramento singer/songwriter Jackie Greene, the Regina Carter Quintet and Chaka Kahn. (925) 275-9255.