Sunday, June 18, 2017

Ten things of thankful: Summer arrived!

After a very long wait (see my previous post), we are basking in summer. In fact, I am writing this post on my deck.

After the office, the deck is my favorite part of this house. Now that the trees have fulled leafed, it is in shade all day long, so I don't need to worry about sunburns. There is a hammock for naps, a comfy chair for when I want to sit upright, and a great view of the bird feeder.

I also love the sounds from the deck: the brook across the road, the bamboo wind chimes, and the birds, including the neighbors' chickens and ducks.

Right now, our lilacs are having their best year ever, and the scent is heavy in the air, especially when the wind blows.

This has been a great year for flowers all around. In some cases we know why--Michael gave the lilac bushes an aggressive pruning two years ago--but others are a mystery. What made the apple trees so beautiful this spring? Why did more daffodils bloom this year? As we move from spring into summer, it appears that every blooming plant is having a great year.

I'm trying to enjoy it and not erode some of the joy by thinking, "I bet next year is going to be a real disappointment." (For those of you wondering about the move, we still don't have an official answer, but it's beginning to feel physically impossible to move cross-country before school starts. Can you even book movers on this short notice?)

For the second year, our bird feeder has attracted a wider variety of birds than we saw when we first got here. Among the more colorful and amusing: goldfinches, cardinals, nuthatches, and purple finches.The indigo sadly didn't stick around our yard, but I caught a flash of him on my walk the other day.

One of the things I don't like about where we live is how buggy it can get in the summer. Bugs love me. I taste great, and my wardrobe contains a lot of blue, which they are attracted to. I started the summer trying to tough it out, going without bug spray or using the natural stuff I got at the farmers' market last year. Which smells great, but doesn't seem to actually keep the bugs off. A few days ago, when I realized I was sitting inside because I didn't want anymore itchy bites, I went rummaging and found a container of Off Deep Woods. I haven't had a bite since. 

I love the play of light through the trees. Whether I'm on the deck or in the house, life has an underwater feel during the summer.

Of course, there's a downside to having your forty-year-old cedar-shingled house surrounded by tall trees. Some areas of the siding have been nagging at me, and this week we had contractors come fix the worst of the areas. They'll be fixing two more areas in the weeks ahead. I get a jolt of pleasure every time I see the new shingles.

I almost wrote an entire post of thankfuls about my dad, since this is Father's Day, but as I thought of the things I would include, I realized it sounded very familiar. So, go read this post from 2013.

And I'm thankful for Michael, who is such a great dad to our kids. The teen years can be hard, and they don't make as much use of some of his strengths as the earlier parenting years (he's a rock star at parenting babies and toddlers), but he is constantly thinking of them and their future and the world we are creating for them to live in. And more immediately, when it's my turn to cook and I ask the kids what they want to eat for dinner, inevitably the first four things each kid mentions are things in Michael's repertoire, not mine.

And now I'm going to try to link up to the blog hop, which I'm embarrassingly bad at.


Ten Things of Thankful




4 comments:

Josie Two Shoes said...

Hello Minda, I am delighted that you've come to join us at Ten Things of Thankful this week! It's such a positive place and your list complimented the others beautifully!

I see you live in the beautiful Northeast with lovely green things and much cooler temperatures than we are experiencing here in West Texas. We've been in the triple digits for several days with more forecast for the coming week. It's much like living in an oven were it not for the blessing of AC. We've also had a lot of rain this year, which is unusual, but it dries off very quickly in the heat. I was raised in the Midwest with lakes and trees and soft green lawns, and like you I love the sights and sounds and the light playing through the trees. I do not love mosquitos so I am sad you have to live with them, I'm glad the Deep Woods Off is helping to keep them at bay. As a child they loved me way too much! Your deck sounds like such a lovely place to hang out, I am envious! Lilac is my most favorite scent so I know your yard smells heavenly! How fun to see all the growing things thriving!

New shingles for the house is something to be thankful for, maintenance is a never-ending cycle, and it always feels good when we feel like we are keeping up with it.

When I'm finished here I will be headed off to read your 2013 post about your Dad. I often find myself writing about the same topics that play or have played an important role in my life.

Your husband sounds awesome, you and your children are surely blessed to have him. I think on this day of all the children who grew up without such a father figure and I know how much many have suffered because it. It makes you treasure yours all the more, and realize that one day your children will be writing the posts about their memories of an awesome dad.

I'm glad you were able to link up with us just fine, if you ever run into problems just drop me an email and I'll be more than happy to help you get the link done. Have a blessed and beautiful week ahead with just enough warm sunshine to keep you smiling! :-)

Kristi said...

I'm so glad you posted! I've been rather scarce on the blogging front, but Mom said you had written, so I had to stop by. (To be clear, Mom didn't say I had to read your post; she simply told me you had posted. The desire to read was my own.) 😊

Pat B said...

Certain lines describing your deck during this time of year are so poetic, i.e. "life has an underwater feel during the summer."
I enjoyed vicariously the sounds and the smells from your deck.
I didn't know that insects were attracted to the color blue. That little piece of knowledge explains a lot! Thank you, thank you!
As for the apple tree, some fruit trees are biennial, producing a heavier crop every other year.
Just a quick check online looks like movers appreciate a month advance notice during the busier summer months. That doesn't mean that it is impossible get a mover sooner than that though. Hope you will have some answers soon.
I'm am so excited to see that you linked up. Yeah!

clark said...

Welcome to the TToT
As bloghops go, this is surely one of the best. A good theme and very open attitude towards 'style and presentation' (many 'hops have certain guidelines that can get a bit restrictive in feel which can cut back on the fun... this is totally not one of them.)

We're on the southern coast of New England and it is beginning to appear like summer is going to be 2 days of 90 degrees followed by 2 weeks of cool and rainy, Pacific Northwest meets Hawaii

funny you mention Deep Woods Off...it's been the only repellent that seems to work for me, everything else, safe and good-smelling is nothing less than Thousand Islands for the 6-legged set.