August has crept into our lives. Yes, of course, families take vacations - see the family. Back East? Or Midwest? Or just over the mountains or down the coast. But for many, there may not be the driving need or desire or the ability to reconnect with the family; vacations can happen at a different time of the year. But, August does intrude her slow ways, whether you are on holiday or at home.
August asks us stiff questions: how can one not walk the trails in any one of our mountains, so close that the trail can be reached shortly after an early breakfast in Seattle; or find the beach and plunge into the slightly icy waters, salty or otherwise; or, with some organization, create a two- or three-day trip into the outer reaches of this region without much strain. It is August - the 24/7 lifestyle holds NO allure.
So, without the blessings of my ever-so-tolerant Editor, I will be writing very short/vacation-inspired pieces - perhaps called vignettes, in the effort to raise them to some degree of credibility.
For those of us not going on holiday this month, our skills with garden irrigation are in high demand. My calendar is cluttered with notes about the "where, when and how" for a number of gardens here on the Hill. Of course it is a bit unnerving when you think about the possibility of doing something really dumb in one of your friends' gardens. However, all of those worries are offset by the sheer pleasure of spending time in someone else's creation. There are wonderful surprises that lead to the "why didn't I think of that great plant combination" musings. And of course there are those awkward moments when you realize you have just dragged the hose over a tender little thing that you cannot remember the name of. Ooops....
Then, just when you think you have covered all the instructions, you remember that the vegetable bed needs to be checked. And sure enough, there is much to be harvested. For it is August....
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