I’ve never been a thrill seeker, really, but I used to be a lot more daring than I am now. I used to go to amusement parks and ride scary roller coasters. When I was a teenager I went white water rafting – twice. But I’ve never done things like bungee jumping or cliff diving. You’d have to drug me to get me to parachute out of an airplane. As I’ve gotten older, any sort of activity involving any tiny sort of risk has no appeal to me at all. I get nervous when someone drives over 70 miles per hour. So I had some slight feelings of trepidation about going river rafting this weekend. I tried to calm my budding fears by telling myself that the river was in Pennsylvania so how dangerous could it be? I mean, it wasn’t going to be something like the Colorado after all. And my family was going and they seemed fine about it so why should I worry? I didn’t tell anyone that I had qualms about this adventure. I didn’t want to put a damper on their excitement. And so we went river rafting this weekend.
The whole trip was planned to celebrate my daughter Sarah’s birthday, which was on the seventh. We all met down at the Thayn’s house on Friday evening. Sarah and Tosh were there already by the time we arrived. And our niece Alexa was there. On Saturday morning we drove down to the town of Ohiopyle in Fayette County to raft down the Middle Youghiogheny River (called the Yough, pronounced yug, for short). The middle portion of the Yough has rapids on it rated Class 1 and 2, which is considered mild. The Upper and Lower Yough has Class 4 and 5 and requires you to have a guide with you. We went down the Middle Yough unguided in two rafts – Tabor, Rachel, Hazel, Miriam, and I, in one, and Stacey, Hannah, Josiah, Sarah, and Tosh in the other. It took us four hours to go from the drop off point to the pick up point. While we were on the river, Alexa took care of June and Mabel, who were too young to come with us.
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| Getting outfitted for our adventure. |
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| On the Middle Yough. |
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| Our raft. |
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| The other raft. |
The river was beautiful. There were some nice, not dangerous sets of white water and stretches of calm water. All my fears seemed silly after we set out. Some people went overboard, but did it on purpose – except for Stacey who got bounced out when their raft hit a rock in a set of rapids. She was surprised and soaked, but okay and everyone got a good laugh out of it afterward. It was a fun time to be together on a great adventure. After we got off the river, we met up with Alexa and the girls and had a picnic lunch before heading back to the Thayn’s house.
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| Alexa, Mabel, and June. |
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| The non-rafters get a treat. |
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| Our picnic lunch. |
That evening we worked in the Thayn’s yard, had a bonfire, and a Mexican fiesta. Sarah made carne asada with handmade corn tortillas and all the fixings. It was delicious. I love being with my family.
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| Our evening bonfire. |
This morning we all went to church in the Thayn’s ward, went back and had lunch together, and then everyone headed home – Sarah, Tosh, and Alexa to Michigan, and us back to Gold. Miriam stayed behind and will come up on Wednesday with Rachel and the girls. As we drove home this afternoon I was impressed by the great beauty around me. Driving across the state we went through beautiful farmland, beautiful forest, beautiful little towns with clipped lawns and bright flower gardens. And then we were home where the late afternoon sunlight shining on my house and my gardens greeted me and made my heart glad. We had an exciting and happy adventure.
As soon as we got home, I took a walk around the property to see how everything fared while we were away. I can see that the season has quietly progressed. It looks like late summer now. We’ve come to that time when the tall garden phlox (Phlox paniculata) reigns as the Queen of the Late Summer Garden. When we moved here (almost 20 years ago!) there was a patch of phlox in my aunts’ little flowerbed that I expanded into my long border. They were and are a pretty soft pink, very fragrant, and very hardy. As my long border expanded, so did the patch of phlox. Before long they had spread into places where I did not want them and I had to dig some out. They are still spreading and I still dig them out of their newly invaded territories every fall. (I dug some up and took them down to Rachel this weekend.) One year I bought a second color, a deeper pink, to broaden the late summer phlox pallette. Then last fall my friend Nancy gave me some other colors – an even bolder pink, a vivid red, and pure white. They are all blooming for the first time in my garden now and all I can think is “I need more phlox in every color!” They are beautiful plants. Next spring I will plant more.
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| Phlox in my garden. |
Two years ago Nancy gave me an Angel Trumpet plant (Brugmansia). It is very tender and has to be brought in during the winter when it’s dormant. I’ve managed to keep it alive and even started a second plant from a cutting. They are big plants and I’ve had to transplant them several times into larger pots. They are blooming right now and I love them. They give the back porch steps a tropical feeling.
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| One of my angel trumpets. |
I’ve begun cleaning out areas of the long border to ready them for fall planting. It’s a bit early, and it does make the garden look sparse in spots, but I have to work while I can. I’ve begun moving clumps of lilies that were all in one place, distributing them to spread their loveliness across the beds. I got some new plants from Nancy’s garden – a globe thistle (Echinops ritro), some different colors of bee balm (Monarda didyma), and ligularia – that I’ve tucked in various places. I’m already working on next year’s garden. I will soon order fall bulbs.
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| The late summer long border. |
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| Another shot. |
Because our spring was so wet, and most of the summer too, my orchard isn’t doing so well. There weren’t many apples in the first place. Most of the trees are on their off year for production, but the fruit that I do have has suffered. Heavy rains have made much of the fruit split. And the damp has brought on all sorts of mold and fungus. I’ve sprayed with my organic sprays, but it hasn’t helped much. It looks like there won’t be any applesauce or cider this year.
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| Deer in the orchard. |
Even my big Yellow Transparent tree, which is my most reliable producer and my best sauce apple, dropped its split and moldy fruit early. The fallen fruit has attracted deer, who don’t care about fruit quality. We have a doe with two fawns visiting to feed and at this point I don’t care. I’m not going to eat those apples and if the deer do, I won’t have rake them up.
The summer garden isn’t the only place with bright flowers. Three of my orchids are blooming right now. They don’t usually bloom this time of year, but I’m glad they are. Again, when I see their flowers the plant collector obsession in me kicks in and I want more of them. Is there no limit to my plant greed?
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| My orchids. |
So we are home again. I love coming home after being away. The week ahead will be busy. I have sign orders I’m working on upstairs. I have loads of work to do outdoors. Josiah and I will tackle cleaning the barn tomorrow. And the summer moves on.
