Quintessential Summer Daze

What makes a summer’s day just right?

Sunshine and heat and a tandem ride to the beach for starters…

…a tall cool McDonald’s strawberry mango smoothie to follow,  a refreshing shower and a nap out back from happy exhaustion in the dappled seclusion of the willow…

Upon waking, juicy cold sailboat slices of watermelon till thirst is quenched and tummies tight ( :

A broiled salmon steak fished from local waters for supper and then a quiet perusal of the garden in the balmy evening and some industrious compost turning  just because making dirt is so much fun!

And at close of day a glorious billowing sky of gold and silver clouds to the west and a full arc of brilliant rainbow to the east…tying up the day as if it were a custom gift from God to us. 

All these make a summer’s day just right.  What more could I ask?

But then today dawned and I couldn’t resist a little hike to a favorite ‘perch’ on the side of Scout…

And I sat and wrote and read the morning away, lapping  up the luxurious warmth of another rare summer’s day…

And  I took pictures…

…pictures of every summery thing that struck my fancy…Well, not everything, the bumper crop of crimson huckleberries hanging daintily by the roadside I didn’t think to photograph.  I plucked little tangy handfuls and ate them instead!

Flowers everywhere are celebrating summer…

Some with great fanfare…

Others lollygagging about…

The most exquisite bears thorns… she is the blackberry’s forerunner.

And at last, home to my own flowers. 

My very own first Gerber Daisy… looking artificial were it not for the rumple of wind and weather…

 

A quintessential summer’s day would be incomplete without the bumbling buzz of bees, hard at work while we play…

Here’s hoping you too are enjoying the essence of summer where you are.  What makes a summer’s day just right for you?  Drop a comment in the box before you head back out the door to smell the roses!

--LS

Long quiet spring evenings…

…are perfect for a spontaneous jaunt to our local beach…

to stand in awe of all the teeming life…

…and enjoy day’s end together,

while shadows stretch long…

…and little lost boats find their way to shore

by the light of the setting sun…

We’re loving the long and  unseasonably balmy spring evenings we’ve had this week. Other select evening pastimes included—a jolly pedal around town on our antique ‘granny’ tandem just for the fun of it…

and a drive out to visit ‘Chase Me’ and spruce her up for sale…

(looks like someone’s interested?)

Ahh… the glory of a quiet spring evening!

--LS

Beside the Sea

There blooms beside the sea come spring a wild beauty of a currant bush.  I journeyed down today to see whether it had yet bloomed.

And there she stood trembling in a stout Nor’wester, hanging on to her latent bouquets for all she was worth…

.

…biding time till it’s safe to unfold her blooms.

Meanwhile a wind-buffeted tug huddled by the mill to wait out the weather…

And I sought refuge among the great rocks guarding the shore.  I found the perfect spot, shielded from wind but open to sun.  As I bent to scrutinize my seating what should I see but this wee handful of ice pellets…

And then I remembered the storms of the previous night—a hazy recollection of dreams disturbed by something lashing at the windows…ahh, there must have been hail.  And here lay its very last vestiges, hidden by the great rocks now sheltering me. 

So I sat just a while viewing the sea from my this fine vantage point, basking in sunshine, listening to the trickle of water making its way down through crevices in the rock slabs to the sea and watering spring’s first greens on its way…

Ahh…what a delectable spot to bloom, here beside the sea.

--LS

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is higher than I.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, [and] a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. Ps.61:2-4

Come walk with me?

Winter’s here and the poplar woods are bleak and bare…
It’s a bit of a chore without even the dog for company, but I have in my mind’s eye a destination:



The Strait is really rather lovely, any time of year!



With front-row seating besides!

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, 

as the waters cover the sea. Hab.2:14

--LS

Back at the Dock...

Jim and I  closed out our sun-filled weekend yesterday with a late-afternoon drive out to Lund--where the highway ends at the sea.  Here lies the gateway to Desolation Sound,  a yachter's paradise,  just beyond our doorstep... It's just a dozen miles down the road from us but we haven't been back much since we sold our boat a couple years go.   We  strolled around catching up on what boats are in,  checking out the new gas dock, and just having a happy  photo shoot as the day came to a close...



Yes, this is us... I only wish the photo of the sunflower starfish had come out to show you.   There were several great big orange ones. But you'll have to sample a 'google' image this time...


Now that we are without our robust sailboat, we are kept from our favorite retreat--the Ragged Islands just on the horizon.  So close and yet, without a sea-going boat, so far.  We have such happy memories of hanging out on sunny afternooons there.  We even put on an Easter egg hunt one Spring for our kids on one of the miniature islands there.  We christened it Easter Egg Island afterward, when we failed to find all the eggs we had hidden.  I wonder if anyone else ever found our treasure?

Of course the crowning moment of our photo shoot was the sun's quick descent behind the mountains of Vancouver Island on the horizon.  There it was one moment, and gone the next.  And oh! we suddenly felt chilled to the bone and retreated to our car and home for a Hot Mocha...
"From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised..."