August on the Front Porch

We returned from California late on Tuesday and seem to have brought sultry heat with us.  It’s good for the plants, though a little withering for me.  Even so, August is the last full month of leisurely summer days and I am out on the porch as much as possible.  I put out my weathered polka dot tablecloth.

My handmade patriotic wreath was set away for next July and the green-ribboned bow is back.

The impatiens by the rocker and in the planter by the front door are fuller at this point in the summer.

August mornings are a reminder that summer is fleeting.  I’m determined to enjoy them, heat and all.

Flower Friday

The zinnia season has arrived in my garden and each week, I can treat myself to a fresh-picked bouquet of cheery flowers.  This makes me ridiculously happy, as if summer might very well last forever.

Tuesday Garden Update: August 9

 I’ve been away for the last week, making my annual trip to visit family in my hometown.  The break from daily life was lovely but I have missed checking in on my lush garden.  This morning’s walk through my garden was exhilarating.

There are tomatoes to enjoy with our supper.  There are enough zinnias to pick my first bouquet of the season.  Better than that, is the promise of may bouquets yet to come.

Three Boys

We made our annual August visit to California last week and that meant a chance for my sister’s boys and JT to get together.  Since 2006, I have made it a tradition to take their picture together.   That year, we took a sweaty pack of boys to Disneyland.

In 2016, they’ve grown quite a bit larger but remain good friends.  

As the photo attests, my nephews come from tall stock.  On the left is C, a tall 6 foot 3.  His baby brother S is 6 foot 8.  JT, at 5 foot 9, is at the small end of this threesome.  The little boys, JT and S, are headed into the 11th grade; the big one, C, packs off for college in a few weeks.  They’ve been friends their whole lives, a very happy thing.

Good Morning, California

I haven’t always been a morning person, but for the last 10 years of my life morning has become my favorite time of day.  I love it for the quiet.  When the sun has just risen and the birds are chirping, there is a sense of promise in the day ahead.  I enjoy that potential and I especially enjoy a leisurely morning.

In the heat of summer, mornings outside are especially tempting because they are cool even as the bright sunlight takes hold. 

I’m in California this morning; tomorrow we wing our way home to New Jersey.  I am sitting with my favorite coffee mug on my parent’s back patio.  I hear the waterfall and the sound of doves, the voices of my parents and T visiting inside the house as the temperamental cat comes in and out the door.  I can see the lime and lemon trees, heavy with fruit across the green lawn.  For just a moment I wish for the time to hold still like the quiet of the morning.

In the Land of the Big, Big Trees

A few summer’s ago, T and I made a visit to Seneca Falls, New York, the birthplace of the women’s rights movement in 1848.  While there, we visited the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  The National Park Service ranger at the site referred to a large tree in the front yard of Stanton’s home as a “witness tree” meaning that the tree had been present when the 1848 convention was being conceived in Stanton’s home; the tree had witnessed history.  I loved the idea of “witness trees” and it came to mind when we visited the Sequoia trees at King’s Canyon National park on Wednesday.

These trees have witnessed years and years and stand tall in a forest of incredible magnitude.

They are beautiful in a way that is awe-inspiring.  Some of my best childhood memories happened in the California national parks.  

These forests are among the most beautiful places in the world, something all the generations of my family can all agree upon.

Real Life Conversations with JT: Interview Ready edition

The backstory:  The back-to-school packet arrived in the mail last weekend and JT got word that there is a before-classes program from Juniors on resume-writing and interview practice.   We agree that he should attend the program and then I suggested that he think about answers to standard interview questions.  I offered a few for his consideration.

Me (as interviewer):  What is your greatest weakness?

JT:  I have no patience for idiots.

Me (now a nervous interviewer):  What is your greatest strength?

JT:  I’m not one of those idiots.

At that, I burst into laughter.  I’d hire him, but I am not your average employer.  Perhaps the workshop will help him to refine his answers.

Summer Days

As July spills into August, I’m as languid as I can be.  The days seems to pass in a haze of busy relaxation.  In the mornings, I take my first cup of coffee and sit outside with my book.  I wear flip flops to work, my hair carelessly caught back and my face without makeup.  I treat myself and don’t check my e-mail after I come home from work; I don’t take work home.  I plan suppers that take more than an hour to get on the table and I don’t mind if I skip out on my daily load of laundry.

This part of summer, when I’m caught up on sleep and the days seem to stretch before me, is like a tonic that I can store away for the school year, when relaxation is hard to find.  The older I get, the more I am aware of the need to appreciate the moment while I am in it.   In a life busy with an ever-more  jammed calendar, that’s sometimes difficult for me to remember.  Summer is a reminder to stop and enjoy now.

Tuesday Garden Update: August 2

We’ve slipped into the abundant tomato season.  That means supper menus which are built around tomatoes I pluck from the garden when we are ready to eat them.  This week, we’re making a quick trip west to see family and mountains.  When we return, there will be bouquets of zinnias to cut and arrange.

That’s happy!

August 1: In the Backyard Neighborhood

Usually, August finds the backyard starting to look a little parched.  This year, the July rains have come often enough to cope with the heat, and so the plants in this corner of the yard have held on quite nicely.

There were no peaches on my tree this year.  Nearly a dozen set on but one night in June some critters (possums, I suspect), made quick work of my prospects.

Some years, that’s the case.  I try to be patient with such developments.  After all, there’s always next year and there is still plenty to enjoy in this corner of my garden world.