I sure do love the month of August! It's truly my favorite Summer month besides the end of June and the beginning of September. There's just something about August sunshine and cooler evenings. At least here in New York. I feel most alive in August......and I have many blessings to share this week. I'll share five of those that top the list.
Linking up at Susanne's site with other bloggers is something I look forward to each week because I find a lot of encouragement from reading others' blessings. God is so good!
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the back of our house from the swing
and that glorious evening sky |
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| perfect crescent Monday eve |
- OUTDOOR EVENINGS: I love the summer sky in the evenings......especially with the cooler, dryer air we have had most of the week and the clear skies. I love sitting on the swing or on the deck reading or sipping a glass of wine or iced tea...sometimes chatting with my neighbor, sometimes with hubby, but usually by myself. I have solar lanterns that click on when it gets dark and I've been known to light candles to just sit out there until bedtime. Mosquitoes stay away from using citronella candles or if we are sitting by the bonfire pit. I'm thankful for beautiful summer evenings!
- OUTDOOR MORNINGS: There's just something about a slow, summer morning. Now that I'm retired, I can linger over coffee and a good book after time in the Word and just enjoy the fresh air with the birds at the feeders and the morning sun coming through the trees in the backyard. We are blessed that our backyard is on the east side of the house, so by afternoon, the sun is around the front and the backyard stays much cooler and shadier. I'm so thankful for time to linger over a good book outside.
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Colonie-Mohawk River Park
walking/bike path |
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| meadow sage along the path |
- OUTDOOR WALKS: I love doing my fitness walking outdoors all year round. But there's something about August that I particularly love. The mornings tend to be cooler and dryer than July (less humid) and the mid-day sun, although hot, doesn't seem as blindingly stifling like in July. Tuesday, after a morning of chores around the house, I had to get my body moving at a good pace, so I headed over to the park in the north part of our town and walked the bike path there for a little over a mile before I needed to run an errand. I noticed the meadow sage because my youngest daughter got me a pot of it for Mother's Day and I had to transplant it already into a bigger deck container.....the pretty purple color is so sharp against the green. I'm thankful for pretty paths to walk.
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- OUTDOOR SPACES: I love all kinds of different reading spots and walking areas. The photo above is one of the wooden Adirondack chair my husband hired someone from the central Adirondacks to make me for my retirement. When Spring arrived, we discovered that the polyurethane Dave had put on (we bought it unfinished) last summer, was the wrong kind and it was coming off in strips all over the chair! The last 2 weeks, after working all day, he re-sanded it down, and put extra coats of the correct polyurethane on it. This process took 2 weeks because it takes about 48 hours in the heat to dry (he did it in our garage). I'm thankful I have my backyard reading chair back and that I can park in the garage again. More importantly, I'm thankful for Dave's hard work!! I'm also thankful for the large park with bike/walking paths in the south part of our town. I was there early yesterday morning for a 2 mile power walk and I snapped a few pics of some of my fave spaces in the lower part of the park. I'm so thankful for the large suburb we live in that boasts 2 large town parks!
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Main Entrance .
....a space that is very appealing |
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| The children's maze is another cool space...... |
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| The pond with 3 fountains is one of my fave places to rest |
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Walking through the Meadow portion of the park
is always a fave......yes, there are cows in suburbia! |
- OUTDOOR CAFES: I love eating outdoors......this started when I was in college and was at some little downtown Rochester restaurant that had outdoor seating. Fast forward to our trip to Paris in 2010, and we ate al fresco many times as we did in Rome. After my power walk yesterday, I headed down the road to a fave coffee cafe and sat outdoors with an iced coffee and my book. I'm so thankful for good coffee, local cafes that offer outdoor seating and the good summer weather.
That wraps up my faves for the week. Today I am north in the southern Adirondacks with my sister Hope at a fave beach to do some swimming and just hang out together. Whatever you have planned, I hope you have time to find the blessings.
HAPPY WEEKEND!
11 comments:
I love the photos of your home and reading spots. The Adirondack chair looks so comfortable and how wonderful of your hubby to fix it up for you.
I'm waiting for that cooler air you are having now. That usually comes in September for us. Enjoy!
I enjoy eating outside too. So much nicer than eating in a busy restaurant. I'm hoping during the fall of next year I may get the chance to eat in an outdoor cafe in France although it probably won't be Paris.
Have a lovely weekend!
Hi Faith, I enjoyed my visit here. I like your Adirondack chair, but I would have to have cushions to sit in one. You are blessed to have some great parks in your city. We have smaller parks that are geared towards children with playgrounds and large fields. Not a lot of trees. I like to be outside, but the mosquitoes are so bothersome! I need some citronella candles. Enjoy your weekend!
Hi Faith. So glad you had a nice week and got to spend a lot of time outside such beautiful surroundings. I love that Adirondack chair. Have a good weekend. See you again soon!
Hi Faith. I love outdoor evenings, but only when it's not too humid. It's been really hot and humid here. I attempted to go for a walk this afternoon, but it was just too hot. I also enjoy eating at outdoor cafes when the weather is nice. I love the green umbrella on your patio by the way. Have a great weekend!
I also enjoy the peace and quiet of early mornings and then the evening but it has been very hot here this last week or so. Glad you got that lovely chair sorted. Enjoy your weekend with your sister.
Living summer mostly outdoors is what we love best about summer too! The chair is a beauty, and while the sealing process was tedious, you will enjoy it for a very long time! Your home is lovely set against the setting sun! Enjoy your getaway, nothing better than enjoying the water and the sun as summer draws to a close. I love this season of August too!
What a beautiful view from your backyard swing! I like being outdoors in the morning the best. I struggle with getting anything done after work.
Your backyard looks huge and a great spot for relaxing and reading. Is it the norm in your area to have "open" backyards? In my area most, if not all, backyards are totally closed off from the front. That park looks gorgeous!
What a nice bunch of outdoor spots! August is usually stifling here, but we were at an outdoor event today and had some quite pleasant breezes.
I too love the smell of the air in August ! When I lay in my bed the air comes into my room it it smells so good. Being outside half of the day is wonderful ! and so far we finally had a decent summer weather in August !
It's fun to see where you like to read. You asked about The Color of Rain -- I absolutely loved it. I'll have to write more about it in a blog post, but it was based on the author's grandparents correspondence and he included all the actual letters. I hope you are enjoying your weekend with your sister!
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