August is a hard month for me. As a child it was always the month we moved – in 1968 from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, to Tallmadge, Ohio; in 1971 from Tallmadge to Ravenna, Ohio; in 1972 from Ravenna to Naperville, Illinois; in 1978 from Naperville to Sylmar, California. I hated the upheaval and confusion of moving. Those memories taint my appreciation of August. And August was always the month of summer in its death throes before school began on the day after Labor Day. Now school starts at the end of August, which makes it even harder. Yet for all the bad associations, I have wonderful memories of the month. It was the month (after me moved from Pennsylvania) that my Grandma Rathfon and my cousin Rick and sometimes other cousins would come to spend the month with us. It was the month of playing in the hottest sunshine of the year. Of spending lazy hours boating on the West Branch reservoir. Of hiking in the woods. Of games of Monopoly that stretched over days. I guess the worst thing about August is that it ends and with it goes the summer.
Last week on Tuesday we did an exchange at the Buffalo Airport. We sent Miriam back to Utah and picked up Asa arriving from Missouri. I was very sad to see Miriam go. She was here for such a short time. If it were up to me, she’d never go. Having Asa here has been fun, especially for Josiah. They’ve had a great time together. Asa just turned 18 and is getting ready to turn in his mission papers. I took advantage of having two boys at my disposal and put them to work digging potatoes, pulling onions, cutting down dead trees, and hunting rabbits for me.
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| Saying good-bye to Miriam. |
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| Our potato harvest. |
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| The last of the onion harvest. |
So all the onions are up and curing on the back porch now. We had a good harvest and they are nice looking onions, all of a good size. We harvested the potatoes a little earlier than expected. We had a case of blight and the tops died off. Even so, we dug up over 100 pounds, not bad. We’re still waiting for ripe tomatoes.
We went blueberry picking on Monday. We picked six pounds, most of which Mama and I turned into jam on Tuesday. We also bought a bushel of peaches from the Amish, made peach jam from some of it and froze the rest for peach smoothies. Since I was in a jam and jelly frame of mind, I also thawed elderberry juice from last year’s harvest (this year’s was ruined by the late freeze) and made three batches of jelly.
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| Blueberry picking. |
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| Jam waiting to go down cellar. |
Other notable events during the week were a long walk to and through the woods with Miriam and Josiah on Monday, and a spectacular sunset on Monday,
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| Walking up to the hollow. |
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| Looking back toward home from the top of the hill. |
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| Heading into the woods. |
the purple poppies opening on Tuesday,
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| Purple poppy. |
the morning glories finally starting to bloom on Thursday,
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| Morning glories - at last! |
my favorite SuperTed sunflowers opening on Friday,
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| SuperTed sunflower. |
the hour I spent tending the bees on Saturday,
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| Tending the bees. |
and many hours spent just sitting and talking.
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| Chatting in the Shillg's back yard. |
Tomorrow Asa and my parents are leaving to return to Missouri. They will make the trip in several days, stopping in Indiana on the way to visit the Rathfons there. It has been great having them here the last few weeks. Their leaving strikes another death knell for our rapidly expiring summer.
I know the house will seem too quiet after Mama, Dad, and Asa are gone. A pall of sadness always hangs over all such departures. But I don’t think it will last too long. Things will soon grow restive as we try to do all the summer things we can while summer lasts. I foresee an increase in croquet games, campfires, swimming, and enjoying the luxury of just lazing about as we enter the last two weeks before school starts. And then it will all change.
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| Sunset on Monday. |
