A Few Things I am Loving about August

I used to absolutely detest the month of August, until I moved next to Lake Superior.  Every year I am surprised at what a great month August is here.  We’ve been having so much rain this summer, which I love, and everything still looks fresh and green in August.  The weather shifts between gloomy rain and perfectly crafted sunny summer days.  It’s just fantastic.

Here are some specific things I am loving right now in August:

• Potatoes!  Every Wednesday we stop at our local Farmers’ Market and purchase fresh vegetables, like delicious cucumbers, green beans, amazing and perfect carrots.  There are many stalls at the farmers’ market.  We visit “The cucumber lady” for cucumbers, because she always has the small ones I like best, and another stall for carrots because they come in big quantities.  But the best stall of all is the “Potato Man.”  My kids will get out the car in pouring rain to go inside to the Farmers Market to see what the Potato Man is up to.  He is the most energetic proponent of vegetables we’ve ever met, and he loves his potatoes, which are washed and displayed in baskets with care.  He knows everything about each different variety and will tell you all about the different kinds of potatoes and their nutritional value.  Last week he threw 3 extra purple potatoes into our basket of German Butterfinger potatoes to encourage the three kidlets with me.  I love to put fresh Oregano from my container garden on the potatoes with a little bit of butter.  Yum.
• Extra trips to the beach.  We don’t go just on Sundays during this month.  Because the beach is so perfect right now, we go several times a week.
• Lavender blooming on my deck.  I love the smell.
• Tall, tall, tall wildflowers at the butterfly garden in Hartley Park.  there was a lovely yellow wildflower near the fence that had to be at least 8 feet tall!  The butterfly garden is in full bloom right now and the wildflowers are stupendous. I love the tall grass in the meadows as well . . . it is way above my head in places.
• Long lazy mostly unscheduled days make me very, very happy.  I really appreciate being able to be flexible with my sleeping habits. Sometimes I stay up really late and sleep in.  Sometimes I go to bed early and get up early.  Sometimes I stay up late and get up early and have a nice afternoon nap.  I LOVE not having to get up to get kids ready for school, and I plan on appreciating every single day left of summer before we are back to rising super early every morning.
• There are two hummingbirds that frequently visit the flowers on my deck.  I love watching them zip to and fro.
• I love that we can eat almost every meal outside on our outdoor table, and we do, unless it’s raining.