If I Could Make Time Stop

Ah summer, to you I owe some of the greatest satisfactions in life. You allow me to walk out the door in virtually any combination of clothing or, hypothetically, none at all. It takes so much less effort to prepare everything. To top that off, the sun is up just the right amount! You give me exactly the right amount of darkness. Eight hours and we're back for another round of fun.

Just about now, the back country is opening up entirely. Way back destinations that require a backpack are my favorite! A mountain bike and/or car camping are tough to beat as well. Miles upon miles of pine trees, endless kinds of plants, flowers, valleys, rivers, creeks, lakes, ridges, saddles, peaks, mountains, wildlife and wide open blue sky as far as the eye can see.

Not only is the back country opening up, the rivers are dropping and warming up enough to float them in comfort while the sun builds up those big stores of the happy drug, vitamin D! The rush of a few big rapids going back to back or an hour or two of slow moving laziness are pure bliss on a blazing hot day. Bring it on in all of it's glory! Or maybe a rope swing in a lake is more your thing? Maybe even it's a jet ski or boating the open waters of the big lakes that get your engine running. It's all so do-able right now and we have that great big glowing globe in the sky to thank.

Soon the freshest fruits and vegetables will be giving us their best as well! A juicy peach with the powerful flavor punch that just overwhelms the taste buds or a ripe tomato that leaves you drooling for more. Mmm, these first few boxes of ripe cherries will have to hold me over until the masses come in in droves here shortly.

To top things off, we get September, the single best month of the entire year! Steady highs in the mid eighties and lows that let you sleep like a baby. The weather is usually the most stable of the entire year, not too many storms and typically not overyly gusty. Leave the windows open the whole month and forget about utility bills. Ah yes, thank you September, it is our one month that we might actually compete with California on the weather front. Is the ocean an absolute must when we lack millions and millions of angry drivers to contest with in return?

So here's to summer time! Raise another frosty cold one and stay out late for an Alive After Five or a barbeque with friends and family.