Farewell to Summer (Not)

When the calendar slips past Labor Day, the school calendar arrives in the mail, and the buses turn yellow, summer (emotionally) is over.

But seasonally, it's still going strong, and the week ahead beckons with some of the best weather of the year.

Clear blue skies!

Temps in the 80s!

No humidity!

And ripe beaches fairly tumbling out of baskets at the market!

Perhaps there's something to be said for delayed summer weather after all, although I wouldn't have thought so during chilly, damp July.

We made sure to take advantage of it over the holiday weekend, just in case it's really summer's last fling and the meteorologists are pulling a prank on us.

We rented a canoe at the Waterfront Activities Center near Husky Stadium and
paddled around under the overpasses and the waterways near the arboretum. Lots
of lily pads, ducks, and lovely great blue herons like this one. There were three of
us in the canoe so it was riding pretty low and we nearly bottomed out on some
muck in one spot, but we still survived this family outing with only minimal bickering.

My daughter had her first lesson in jumping at a local stable, a beautiful place
that was neat as a pin and home to about half a dozen beautiful, well-kept,
contented horses who all had large loose boxes with open windows.

Sunsets have been spectacular recently, enhanced in part by forest fires over on
the Olympic Peninsula.