last day of summer...

Hot. Pleasantly hot. Of course, truthfully, none of this is necessarily good. Everything is opening up quickly, beautifully, with trust that we have crossed the finish line. But we haven't crossed the finish line! Frost is a lurking northern menace that looks for an opening to come down and visit with us once again. An early spring is happy news only if it isn't followed by stinging, blustery weather.

Still, ignoring for the moment the theoretical possibilities here, I am going to stay happy with what we have. Because it truly is beautiful.

The daffodils haven't been battered by rain storms and so they stand upright and bold. The effect is perfect!

Yes, I'd say today their bright faces are at their freshest and fullest. Some of the late varieties have yet to bloom, but this is true the whole growing season: there is always something around the corner, waiting to surprise you. We learn not to wait, but instead to love what's there at the moment.

Breakfast, warm and wonderful, outside.

The entire rest of the morning and good part of afternoon are spent on my mom's potential move. The issues multiply with each step I take, but I am not daunted. Yesterday it was "impossible." Today it's "we'll see what we can do."

Then comes a long afternoon stretch (bookmarked by buckets filled with dug up weeds) of time on the porch with my friend who is in town after a year of being cut off from her Madison family (and friend!).  It's still hard to grasp -- from Zoom meetings to porch moments. Safe because of a vaccine. How incredibly beautiful is that!

Hot air is usually followed by a storm and we were promised a storm and rain -- all of it. 100% certainty! Ed and I rushed the chicks inside quickly. He put away his tools, I put away mine, but the rain never came! Should I go biking? -- he asks.

Yes, definitely. No rain expected until much much later.

He goes and I watch the clouds do an unexpected twist and turn and I'm thinking -- if he doesn't get rained on, I'll be surprised.