Embracing the August Cool Down

Ahhhhh, the low Tuesday night was 56° and I slept in the camper with the windows wide open. After the deadly heat of July, this is a most welcome change for us. The house stayed cool with fans running and we didn’t have any heavy work to do. I had Mr. FixIt pick up a pork roast when he was in town Tuesday so I popped it in the slow cooker so it wouldn’t heat up the house. When it was time for supper, I dished up the tender fall-off-the-bone pork and added a garnish of Chow Chow Relish on the side. I shucked a couple of ears of corn, opened a jar of my home canned half runner beans to heat up, and sliced both fresh tomatoes and cantaloupe and called it good. It was a perfect summer supper!

When I was growing up, Grandma would walk over to the kitchen garden on the other side of the creek and bring in a mess of sweet corn. She’d shuck it…or get us kids to when we were old enough…then she would boil it to death till is was tough and gummy. We ate it all like we hadn’t seen food in a month of Sundays, but I never knew what GOOD corn was till I lived in Colorado. Not to steal any thunder from Silver Queen, but there is nothing like Olathe Sweet Corn. It’s like crack…you can’t stop once you’ve started. But I learned a trick when I lived in the Rockies. You put your water on to boil while you shuck the corn. Then, as soon as the water comes to a rolling boil, you drop your corn in, cover the pot tight, and turn off the heat. In five minutes, your corn will be piping hot and the kernels will just pop all that juicy sweetness with every bite. I firmly believe you should never COOK corn…you should heat it in that hot water and eat it al dente. SO good!

After supper, and the news, I asked Mr. FixIt if he’d like to go for a walk with me. We drove over to the park in our little burg and walked three laps and greeted the most beautiful standard poodle that waited patiently for us to come around every lap for more scratches behind her ears. She was a sweetheart. After our walk, we drove around to see what has happened while we were gone. The little mom & pop grocery store closed while we were out of town and that was very sad. They’ve finished the work on the water system in town and made significant progress on the new addition to the medical clinic. Other than that, it’s just the same.

When we got home, I realized I was out of yogurt for my usual bedtime snack, so I made my collagen protein shake instead. I added a fresh, juicy peach and a cup of blueberries and it was Purple Peach Passion with a dash of Pomegranate. And the added bonus of hydration. I never drink enough fluids and run a little dehydrated most of the time, so this was good for me. It also satisfied my sweet tooth!

The fields look like a manicured golf course. No water, no seeding, no fertilizer…just God and Mother Nature…doing their thing! I love summer. We caught this beautiful sunset from the top of the hill on the way home. Fall will come and the leaves will turn and fall off. Then my beloved woods will lay dormant…their bare naked arms reaching for their blankets to ward off winter’s chill. I want to bottle up these temperate days and save their beauty for January and February. 

It will be here all too soon.

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“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.”

Psalms 74:17 NIV

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