summer vibe.

Because there's just something about going home.

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while.

I think it might be rare. Maybe it's a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Because there's just something about going home.

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while.

I think it might be rare. Maybe it's a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Today, I'm still rocking a summer vibe.

I don't know what to tell you, other than that on this humid last day of August, my love for summer has never been more pure. So deep is my love that I felt compelled to share it.


Last week, sunshine, plus a mini road trip, plus 90* heat and thunderstorms, equaled pajamas by 7pm and left-overs on the deck for dinner.

Hallelujah. Summer, if you are listening, please don't leave me!

These hydrangea nearly made me weep.

For reasons I cannot explain, I have been captivated by the Queen Anne's Lace lining the ditches and fields around here. Who ever declared this a weed, anyway? So disrespectful to something so lovely. Then again, she doesn't seem to mind. She goes along her merry way, quietly signaling the subtle turn from Summer to end-of-Summer. More than once, I found myself plotting to snatch some from a ditch. Is it still considered stealing if what you're taking is a lowly weed? Wouldn't I actually be doing someone a service? I like to think of it as pro-bono landscape control. So I decided to just do it. Still I was kinda nervous, this being untrodden ground and all, but I became surprisingly well acclimated to my surroundings and before long I was traipsing through the field, willing myself to believe that there were no mice, snakes or other miscellaneous scariness underfoot.

 There was a mossy, stony niche that made my heart ache a little. And a patch of wildflowers that absolutely rocked my socks off.  I'm just plowed down by the beauty of my still summer days. They are so freeing. They make me belong. feel less wonky. They key me up to an emotional mezzo soprano. In the best kind of way. Thank you summer for trying with me. Thank you for sharing your gifts. Thank you for making me think and love even harder.

I have a million more things to say about that topic, so stay tuned.

For this morning? I'm going to take it down a notch or two.

Because it's hot out. I'm kinda tired. I'm sore from Thursday's weeding.  And I lost my wedding ring for three or four heart stopping hours.

I just need a little breather.

This year, Summer has conspired against me in many ways, and now that I'm starting to feel her putting on the brakes, it's kinda getting to me. Because there is just something about summer ending. I know I talk excessively about this, but it can't be helped. Something happens to me. It's an almost tangible thing. It's a feeling I can't conjure up. It just happens. I carry it around for awhile. I think it might be a rare disorder. Or a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. Some things have stayed the same. Some things are different. I spent my early summer years banging around in the perfect fifties neighborhood. in a dusty field, riding my Schwinn bike around the familiar curve in the road, running through the yard, playing hop scotch and kick ball, slow-poking around all bored and hot. That's how I lived Summer back then. I didn't care about pretty flowers when I was eight or twelve. I didn't have a clue about what I had.

It was simply home, and it hugged me right. It still does.

peace.

Some things have stayed the same. Some things are different.

I spent my early years banging around in that dusty barn, riding my banana bike around the familiar curve in the road, running the yard, slow-poking around all bored and hot.

That's how I lived Summer back then. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Because there's just something about going home.

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while.

I think it might be rare. Maybe it's a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Because there's just something about going home.

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while.

I think it might be rare. Maybe it's a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

A couple weeks ago we felt Summer pulling her breaks and it hit me - we hadn't been to Ohio since May.

Trag. Ic.

So I loaded up the kids and we went. We stayed for 5 days. And it still doesn't feel like Summer fully happened, but those 5 days went a long way toward recalibrating our souls for whatever happens next.
- See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

A couple weeks ago we felt Summer pulling her breaks and it hit me - we hadn't been to Ohio since May.

Trag. Ic.

So I loaded up the kids and we went. We stayed for 5 days. And it still doesn't feel like Summer fully happened, but those 5 days went a long way toward recalibrating our souls for whatever happens next.
- See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

A couple weeks ago we felt Summer pulling her breaks and it hit me - we hadn't been to Ohio since May.

Trag. Ic.

So I loaded up the kids and we went. We stayed for 5 days. And it still doesn't feel like Summer fully happened, but those 5 days went a long way toward recalibrating our souls for whatever happens next.
- See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Because there's just something about going home.

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while.

I think it might be rare. Maybe it's a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Because there's just something about going home.

I know I talk excessively about going home, but it can't be helped. Something happens when I go. It's an almost  tangible thing. It's a feeling I can conjure up, a feeling I can carry around for a while.

I think it might be rare. Maybe it's a wild stroke of luck. I don't know. - See more at: http://flowerpatchfarmgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/Summer#sthash.8MrH42bQ.dpuf

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Serves 4 to 6

I've been making this every summer for years. It's easy and it's delicious.

1 small english cucumber, trimmed, scored, cut in half and then sliced into half moons

6 medium tomatoes, quartered and cut into eights

1 small red onion, peeled and chopped finely

350ml of low fat creme fraiche (1 1/2 cups)

2 TBS caster sugar

1 1/2 TBS white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp freeze dried dill tops

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
a small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Place your cucumber, tomatoes and onions into a bowl.  Whisk together the remaining ingredients until smooth.  Stir this dressing gently into the vegetables.  Cover and chill for about half an hour before serving.

enjoy.