Lots and lots of sweet corn. I have managed to find some awesome corn this summer, for pretty cheap, and we are eating it about twice a week. So much in fact that I have found myself googling the best ways to clean corn. Because while everyone loves to eat it, no one loves to clean it, including me. I think I found the best foolproof method ever...microwave the ears for 1 minute and peel back the husks. The silks come off pretty easily, and the ones that don't...rub it down with a dry paper towel. Foolproof! There's your lesson of the day.
Tomatoes.
I really am od’ing on tomatoes. I love tomatoes in the summer. I start salivating like one of Pavlov’s dogs when I know it’s almost time for ripe tomatoes. I can’t stand them in the winter…I only eat them in the summer when I can stop at little produce stands and buy tomatoes that 3 hours before were still hanging on a vine. I have at times eaten one in the car on the way home because I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that juicy deliciousness. Besides biting into them like an apple, I pile them on salads, make BLT’s, and just slice them and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. This summer, I’ve even been making a delicious creamy tomato soup recipe that I found in a local restaurant’s cookbook. The heat and lack of rain this summer has made it difficult to find really great tomatoes, but I have managed to find (and eat!) more than a few. I bought these on Friday at a farm near Creve Coeur Park...Theis Farm. I love that place.
Walks.
Before the temperatures climbed into the hundreds in July, I took the dog for at least one, sometimes 2, walks each day. Normally, I just walk around the neighborhood, but on a few occasions, I have taken him to walk along the river in downtown St. Charles, and I've also taken him to Creve Coeur lake. We went to the lake Friday morning for the first time in over a month, and it was lovely. I took some beautiful pictures, which is no easy feat while hanging onto a leash with a hyperactive toddler dog at the end of it. I have a wound to prove how un-easy that was. A wound due to a leash that was looped around my arm being dragged down my arm because...dumb move on my part to try to take a picture of a flock of geese. Anyway...here are some pictures.
The photograph that resulted in me having a huge bruise on my forearm:
I love this picture. And I love the colorful orb in it. I'm not sure why that is there...I was completely in the shade when I took this photo, and the tree was completely in the shade as well.
I know I am no different than most people when it comes to taking for granted things you see often. My family and I have walked, ran and biked here for years, yet for some reason, it took having a camera in my hand to really stop and pay attention to how beautiful and peaceful it really is there.
I love how the next picture turned out. I think this would be a good place to have some of Justin's senior pictures taken.
This next picture really doesn't capture how beautiful this is. It's a waterfall that normally feeds into a little brook that runs under the stone bridge in the above picture. This is usually the spot where I turn around and walk back, and on Friday when it was sort of hot, I thought it would be a nice break to take off my shoes and walk into the water with Rudy. Ha ha...the water coming down the waterfall was barely a trickle, and the water at the bottom was stagnant and smelly. So no toes dipping on that day! It looked pretty anyway.
Porch sitting.
I’ve written about my porch enough here, so I won’t bore anyone with any more praises or pictures of my porch. I will just say that I try to sit out there each morning, even if it’s only for a few minutes, and each night to read, because I know that my porch sitting days will be coming to an end all too soon.
Watermelon.
I think I have bought eleventy billion watermelons this summer. There is one on my counter right now begging to be cut into chunks.
Honey Rock Melons.
I think I have bought eleventy billion of those, too. I never see these in the grocery stores in the winter, so I buy one at least once a week. If you haven’t had a honey rock melon, and you like cantaloupe, you must try one. They are like cantaloupe on steroids…bigger, juicier, sweeter….you get the picture! And thankfully, not everyone in my family likes them, so I don’t have to share! (NO one likes tomatoes, so I don’t have to share those with anyone!) I found one today that is huge for only $2.00 at Theis Farm. It is waiting to be cut up, too.
Peaches.
OMG…I love peaches, almost as much as I love tomatoes, but again, only in the summer. There is a peach orchard in St. Louis called Eckerts, and they grow THE best peaches I’ve ever tasted. A few weeks ago, I brought home some that were so juicy that I had to eat them outside, and the juice dripped down my arm onto the porch. Years ago, I used to go there and pick my own peaches, but I haven’t done that in a long time. Thankfully, most of the local grocery stores sell Eckert’s peaches, so I buy them there. I’ve made several peach pies in the past month. Next on my to-do list is peach preserves, which is on my agenda for sometime soon. I bought this cute little basket of peaches at Theis Farm on Friday, too. I didn’t know they grow peaches there, and the worker who rang me up told me that most people tell them Theis Farm peaches are better than Eckerts. I don’t know how that could be possible. If they are...well, I may be OD'ing on peaches even more than I am already. I am planning on making yet another peach pie...
Bike rides.
I have been trying to bike at Creve Coeur Lake at least once a week, except for some of those really hot weeks in July. I am going to miss those rides when it is too cold.
Sunshine.
While I would love to have some rain, and so would my brown, crunchy grass, I love how it is sunny every day. I wish I could bottle up the beautiful days we have had lately and save them for winter when I am craving sunshine and warmth.
Strawberries.
Nothing else needs to be said about that.
Sadly, my flowers are od’ing on summer too, and not in a good way. The heat has not been kind to them. They look so pathetic, but I keep watering them each morning anyway, hoping that they will slowly come back to their perky, flowering life as we head into fall and some cooler temperatures.
So there ya have it. Everything I love about summer. A couple of months ago, I wrote a post about how much I love June and why it’s my favorite month. August is one of my least favorite months. Why? Because I know that all of those things I’ve written about above will soon be coming to an end. That is why I od on summer in August. I know that my days of enjoying peaches and tomatoes and honey rock melons and sweet corn and porch sitting are numbered so I savor them as much as I can. Some days, I realize that all I ate for the day was fruit. Last night, my dinner consisted of a cheese quesadilla and 2 tomatoes. You’d think with my walking and fruit eating I’d have lost some weight this summer. I wish. And even though I’ve had more than my fair share of fruity vitamins, I’m coming down with my second cold in a month.
Well, I’m off to squeeze a little more summer out of my day and relax with a book and a cup of coffee on the porch while I try to pretend that I don’t have laundry to do and dog hair to vacuum from the floors.
Things I am thankful for today:
*All of the above.
*That the big writing project I’ve had hanging over my head for months is nearly finished.
*That Rachel finally got a part in her school play. She has tried out each year of middle school and has not gotten a part until this year. She is thrilled obviously.
*That Brandon is taking a class at college. It’s only one class, but it’s a start, and I am thrilled.
No comments:
Post a Comment