In which August contains many things to celebrate, (finally: rain!)

I have a standing policy to not criticize weather that doesn't need me to shovel it.  

The exception might be wildfire smoke*

Apocalyptic sunset on the farm

*I am almost--but not quite--ready to start spelling the word as "sm*ke."   

We finally got rain after almost 2 months with none.  That's a long time for the Swamp.  Yes, we did dance in it.

Excessive smoke keeps us indoors and off the trails.  This photo was shot on a day when we
had "high smoke" --the breathing down at ground-level was okay.

August is my dad's birthday-month, and I always try to bake him a blackberry pie.  I'm not super-proficient at making pies, but Dad is worth the extra effort!

I wanted to decorate the pie with little stars or something...it turns out that the only
"little" cookie cutters I own are horse-shapes. Still delicious.

The blackberries are usually cooperative about being sweet and productive at exactly the right time, and this year they were perfect:  I was able to pick the berries in the evening and make the pie early in the morning before the day got too hot.

Dad's hands shake (a lot) so Foxie Loxie likes to hang around during snacks--food everywhere!

In August 2020 we went camping at Silver Ridge Ranch, and swam in the lake.  It was glorious! 

2020 photo, more are HERE

But this summer, everybody was too busy to spend 3 days camping with me...so the Dragon and I went camping, and other folks made day trips to visit us.

Laurie and Kate

Laurie and Kate got severely tangled in barbed wire during a trail ride in 2014, and although the long physical recovery is complete now, the PTSD remains for both of them.  

They are both smiling

They wanted a no-drama meandering ride, and the Dragon delivered.  She was in full-blown "pushing the pram" mode the entire time, with her ears floppy and her eyes soft, bless her sweet, fire-breathing heart.

Bloggers know ya gotta take pix!

Laurie wanted to show me the "creek trail", but we ended up on a different meander.  The next morning, Fee and I wandered around until we found the creek trail. 

Temps in camp were in the 80's.  Near the creek it was cooler.  But...bugs.

Jim came to visit too!

We went walking around Gold Creek Lake--pretty, but hot!

It was warmer on the day he visited, and we wanted to cool down.  Hey, I know a spot:

It's about 50*F inside the tunnel!

Fiddle and I walked through the 2.5 mile Snoqualmie Tunnel on the last day of the Fall Ride in 2019.  Then, as now, melting ice inside the tunnel rock was "raining" down.  Spending 45 minutes underground was the perfect antidote to a Very Hot Day.

She likes when I sit in a camp chair near her paddock...
and she likes to lean her head over me to snooze as I read my book.

On our last morning in camp, Fee and I went out for an early ride before packing up to go home.

She remembered swimming here, and she wanted to do it again

When we swam in the lake in 2020, I had a wonderful time...but I wasn't sure how my horse felt about it.  I knew she wasn't scared, and I knew she would do it again if I asked.  I didn't know for sure that she enjoyed it until she asked to do it again!

I hadn't planned to swim, and was wearing breeches and boots instead of a bathing suit and water shoes.  But...why not?

No photos of us in the water because the phone stayed on shore with her saddle and my boots.

Riding back to camp in soggy britches was a small sacrifice considering how happy my mare was with the whole experience.

The trails at Silver Ridge are pretty!

At work, life continues to be impacted by Covid.

I've done outdoor "Stories Under the Tree" in the library park for 20+ years...
but this is the first year I've run book groups and writing classes online

I got to help out with ONE in-person library program this summer:  Free Comic Book Day.
The program is exactly what it says on the tin: we give away comic books until they are all gone.

Back home, it's time to cope with garden excesses. 

Ginger/Golden Plum jam.  

We've made jam from blackberries and golden plums,

Blackberry Jam and Rhubarb Marmalade

 marmalade from the rhubarb, and pickled cucumbers , zucchini, and beans.  

Extra fresh vegetables get hauled to the library to share out with friends there

On the horizon, we expect a lot of purple plums, and if my friend Rick's fig trees continue to bless us we will be preserving figs as well.   

I learned to use the pressure canner!  Now I can process the beans myself.

Our apple trees are not bearing heavily this year but my friend Karen says her trees in Skagit County are laden, so we may head for a visit to help her with apples!

We set up an outdoor kitchen for canning food without heating up the house

"Backyard Scrambles" are especially nice in summer

Sunflowers are treats for goats AND for Dragons

Of course, it's also nice to just hang out in the gardens.  Here's a video I took a few days ago.  Sound on, you won't be sad.

Stay safe, keep breathing.