AT LONG LAST - SOME SUMMER!!!!

We have been waiting long enough - that 's for sure - and summer came in stomping her feet. None of this meek, sliding in quietly - our tempatures went from highs in the 50s and early 60s to 85 degrees - in two days. Wow - it sure hit fast. It is fun to listen to people talk - "Wow it is too hot" - "Where did this HOT weather come from?" - and just two days ago we were all whining because it was too cold and rainy.


I've really enjoyed the bright sunshine - the cloud free skies - the warm warm temperatures - the cozy warm house and the cool pleasant yard in the evenings. Last Sunday we both were awake at 3:30 - and couldn't get back to sleep - so we got up at 4 a.m. - and sat on the front porch to watch the morning come in - and listen to the bird songs in the woods just across the street from our house. It is a skinny woods, not very deep - but has trees galore and it keeps us from peeking into the neighbors' yards on the hill behind our house. Lovely shade and lovely birds. The birds seemed to be very happy that morning - singing their hearts out - we could identify the songs of robins (earliest to bed and earliest to rise), red breasted nuthatches, chickadees (called chickaNees by our grandson Ben), Brewer's blackbirds, Redwinged Blackbirds, Towhees, Orioles, Crows, Juncos and Song Sparrows. We didn't see a lot of them - they keep to the woods in the early part of the day - but their songs were wonderful.


After a long time on the porch we decided to go out to breakfast - to our favorite little cafe down the road - a good "fisherman" breakfast, as our family used to call it, because my dad was a commercial fisherman at one time - Eggs, bacon (fried crisp), hash brown potatoes and biscuits and gravy. Ahhh the gravy. What a treat breakfast it was! The cafe only serves breakfast and lunch - has the same waitresses from year to year and many of the customers have become friends with each other from eating there so long. A really good "hometown" feel to the cafe.


Next, a trip north of town to our favorite farm stand - the Green Barn. Well it is ONE of our favorites - we love Joe's Garden too - they grow most of their produce and it is lovely to shop right next to the fields where the produce is grown.


Joe's Gardens in the fall! In the spring they have baskets of fuchsias hanging everywhere.


We got a basket full of fresh produce from the Green Barn, cantalope, plums, local strawberries, pineapple (obviously not local), asparagus, and WA cherries.


The cantalope was the best we have had this year - and maybe in many years. The strawberries were very very ripe and soft and so delicious. Local berries are the best!!! We ate them plain and over a nice bowl of good vanilla ice cream - ahhhh summer.!!!! We hope to get to our favorite berry stand this week and get a flat of strawberries - some to freeze for jam making on cooler days - and mostly for eating. We eat most of the first flat of strawberries of the season right out of the baskets - and freeze more later. Strawberries on cereal, strawberries on ice cream, strawberry shortcake, strawberry milk shakes, strawberries by the handful - just strawberries all day long!!!! Our oldest grandson, Jahn, loves strawberries - but Ben says "I think I'll just look at them" when offered one. He will eat most of a watermelon though, if offered - and if you make sure there are not seeds. We buy the seeded kind because the taste is more like we remember from childhood days - the seedless seem so bland.

We had just gotten home and were settling down for a spell, when we got an email saying that we could come and pick up the Little Tikes tugboat that was being given to our grandsons. We jumped in the car - and headed for the boat - about 30 miles away - but worth it. Of course the boat was too big for our car - though we do have a large trunk -so we put a blanket on top of the car and lashed to boat down - and off we went.


We couldn't go over 25 mph or the boat began to rock and roll. So slow and easy - down the road we went. The main road we had to travel was wide and had very large shoulders for pulling over - and we had to pull over a lot so traffic could pass us - the speed limit was 50 mph and we slowed traffic a lot. No one got cranky and we got quite a few waves and smiles as they zoomed past our strange cargo. We made it safe and sound - that picture is of the boat in our yard, on top of the car. It is probably the first time a boat has ridden home on top of a Grand Prix.


Now it sits in our yard - after a good scrubbing - and the boys can once again play boat. We had a wooden rowboat at our old house - but decided not to bring it here when we moved. I had gotten a pattern for sailor hats but never got them made - now I might just have to dig it out and make them for the boys. On warm days we will fill this with water for a wading pool - this is going to be such fun!!


On the way home we saw this heron in the shadows in the ponds near our house. He was looking for something good to eat and held this pose for the longest time.

The rest of that good sunny day was spent enjoying the sunshine - at last - and eating fresh produce from our trip north. A fabulous summer day!!

Nothing quilty to report - but a grand day anyway. Hope your summer is going as well as ours is.