Summertime

True to form, summer is crazy busy and blogging time is hard to come by. Also, my camera seems to be approaching the end of its useful life. Before it goes (and summer is gone), here's a quick behind-the-scenes peek at recent happenings, with more detailed posts about the major goings-on to follow soon, I promise.
Playtime. The annual family gathering at Burt Lake took place in early August - and included Maisie's first-ever kayak ride (above). Before that, there was an idyllic weekend backpacking trip on North Manitou Island in mid-July. A gorgeous evening sail in a spry little boat called Good Grief, affording my first-ever look back at Traverse City from out in Grand Traverse Bay. Blueberry picking. Stone Soup potlucks, summer style ("Stone Burritos" for July). And some film festival fun.

Harvest-time. Thanks to many hot days, every corner of the garden is bursting with produce. Tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, and zucchini are especially abundant, indeed. Which means I need to find some time very soon for freezing, canning, saucing, pickling, and otherwise preserving the bounty.
Worktime. Meanwhile, many hours of my days (and nights) lately have been devoted to priming, painting, laying and grouting tile, caulking, and all the other details that need to be finished before I'll have a functional bathroom again (and my first shower at home since July 4th). It's oh-so-close!
And while the house alone sometimes feels like a full-time job, I have another one, too; I just crossed the two year mark since I left NWF headquarters and set up my remote office, and it's coming up on a year now that I've been dividing my time between Eco-Schools USA and Ranger Rick. With multiple monthly deadlines for each, it keeps me hopping - and I've also been doing a bit of work for the Be Out There program on the side, too.

Good stuff, all in all, but I could use a lazy summer afternoon in my hammock with a book and a glass of lemonade right about now . . .