condensed into a bottle

 Iˋm rocking gently on the swing bathed in the scent of wildflowers. The hot and humid air has trapped the fragrance; if it were condensed into a bottle Iˋd have the perfect winter room freshener. Alas, all Iˋll have is my memory of this perfect morning.

Music was blasting until I picked up my tablet to jot down some sentences for my blog - I need less distraction to fish up the words that will form my recollection. 

Itˋs beautiful here… the plants on the deck are lush and colourful; the view across our land is pastoral; the cool blue waters of the pool are a contrast with the parched, hot landscape; the hawthorn trees in the summer pasture have already started turning reddish brown giving texture to the land. I wish I could paint. The buzz of cicadas remind me that itˋs August and that summer will soon be over.

The sky is not cloudless… fluffy clouds are slowly gathering together… I imagine weˋll have thunderstorms this afternoon. (edit: no thunderstorms yet at 6:30pm)

Not much has gone on over the last week (yes! a full week since I posted). We got home from Kirstenˋs on Tuesday, in time for Adiaˋs mani/pedi. Sunday Spike had 2 pee and 1 poop accidents in the trailer so obviously his schedule was mucked up… I stayed with the dogs for most of the day Monday, not wanting a repeat. In the shade of two sprawling locusts Grace enjoyed her time outside while I relaxed, ready to host Graham and Kirsten for leisurely visits. I think we were all a little tired though from fun the night before! The dogs also relaxed in the shade, Adia choosing to spend some of her time baking in the sun while Spike sprawled on the grass, sound asleep. 

Carm golfed a few times. Heˋs up to his 34th game this summer - his legs look like Iron Man legs after all those steps.

The weather has been a mixture of hot and humid with a few days of impending rain so we havenˋt had anybody over to visit. Except Pat - she came one sunny midday when the shade was still on the deck for a lovely visit. 

The days have been lazy with not even much cooking. Very lazy.

Iˋve been getting into the pool almost everyday, missing only a few days this summer. The weather has been hot and cold so thereˋs been a lot of arctic swimming! Iˋve set up an outdoor shower on the back deck so most mornings swim, shower, then swim again. It is a certain kind of bliss feeling the water from the hose turn from hot to icy cold.

I did have a few days where my mood plummeted but thankfully with a bit of hard work I was able to get that turned around. As a reminder, I just saw another article about being grateful for the small things in our lives. Itˋs hard to remember but is a good habit to get into!

Awesome!

“heady scent of wild flowers”

“the distant sound of a lawnmower”

“hearing exciting news”

“reading about my last few weeks of work before retiring”

“picking a giant yellow summer squash - Iˋll make fritters tonight”

“harvesting big handfuls of lemon-thyme”

“a monarch butterfly”