Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Lingering Days of Summer

Toes - colors picked and painted by the niece

I love this photo! 

The kids are already back in school in most places, yet it's still the heart of sweet summer here.  Warm but not too hot, long days of light.  Yet I see the signs of autumn, the changing shadow's angle, the sun sleeping in a little longer, the first leaves that brown and fall.  I've given up on lamenting summer's departure.  It's futile.  Yet I do try to enjoy what I have, to get the most out of these lingering days.  When I return from China and India in a little over a month, summer around here will have shaken hands with fall and gone off for a long vacation.

My efforts to preserve summer include freezing things from the garden (pesto, chard, squash), spending a few more hours at the pool, packing up another picnic, and sitting longer on the patio.  How do you encourage summer to linger a little longer?

8 comments:

Teafan said...

Love the colors!!!

anodyne said...

We are farm marketing and visiting all the nearby farm market stands, trying to get as much produce as we can direct from the source. Just made some fresh peach bread that went nicely with tea.

Marlena said...

Love those piggies! Musing on the back porch, listening to the new songs of the day and evening insects, stocking up in the garden and at the market, harvesting basil, my favorite herb, planting the remaining perennials, dancing in the sun. It's a lovely transition time this year

Steph said...

Mmmm...those experiences sound awesome, anodyne and Marlena!

Marilyn Miller said...

Definitely eating outdoors and having the doors open in the house as long as possible. Love the fresh air. Then also just taking my tea to the back steps in the early morning. I will make pesto soon and the tomatoes are now turning red. Off to Hood River this coming Sunday for apples too.

anodyne said...

Marlena mentioned basil,and that's another one for me, too. I have a pot of basil growing on front steps, and we eat fresh tomato and basil salad many times each week, sometimes adding drizzle of olive oil and balsamic, sometimes some fresh mozzarella, etc. Made a lovely basil lime sorbet a couple weeks ago, recipe from The Herb Companion. This week bought two different kinds of melons to try that were new to me: Canary and Crenshaw. Exploring all fresh summer produce *and* herbs!

Angela McRae said...

Love the photo! Like you, I've been preserving some of the garden's goodness -- tomatoes for vegetable soup, peas, corn, etc. I can't wait to read about your trip!

Steph said...

Love all of your methods!