August - A Look Ahead

You can tell that I am running behind on things when I don’t do my monthly “look ahead” post until almost a week has past on the calendar! July was an action-packed month and August is sizing up to be as well. I will be taking a temporary blogging break mid-month. So don’t be concerned if you see my postings get rather static or if I fail to comment on your posts. Once again, life takes priority over the virtual world. I will at least post some Wordless Wednesday photos for you. I’m not sure if I will schedule anything else.

I have been busy processing and organizing my latest Alaska photos. You’ve seen a few. Of course, I will have many to share with you. But my digital processing is slower than a tub of molasses during a January snowstorm. It’s how I roll. The photos will include scenery, small towns, boats, critters, and totem carvings. That’s a pretty good variety, don’t you think? You’ve already seen a tiny sampling, but you’ll see plenty more when I get the images completed and posts prepared. 

The refinishing and staining project for our home’s shutters and front porch columns didn’t materialize in July. Rainy weather caused some of the delay. We were also out of town about half of the month. The work is now scheduled to begin tomorrow! 

When it is convenient, we like to travel with a laptop. We decided last month to permanently retire and replace our ancient PC laptops, a 10-year old Sony and a 6-year old HP. Trying to keep them updated with Microsoft and security downloads practically a full-time job. Now that we both have iMacs, it made sense for us to go ahead and get a MacBook Pro. We ordered it from B&H Photo and received it about a week ago. It’s a cute little thing! We also went ahead and updated all our Macs with the latest operating system, Mountain Lion. There are some nice features with this version, most notably the sharing of data information between multiple devices via their iCloud system. Us old folks are working hard to keep up with the ever-changing electronics world!

I continue to wait for a new Nikon camera body that I ordered over 3 months ago. It remains on backorder. Grrrr. But I went ahead and ordered a new lens that has been on my wish list for a while. It’s a 28-300mm zoom. Mister UPS should be delivering it to our cottage tomorrow. I’ll be giving it a workout this month, for sure! 

Are you enjoying the Olympics? We’ve been trying to keep up with our favorite events. It’s fun to watch sports that we only get to see once every four years – like beach volleyball! Once again, the USA athletes have done a remarkable job in winning medals and demonstrating good sportsmanship. I shake my head in wonder at most of the athletic feats. May all of the Olympians bask in the well-deserved glory of their accomplishments! 

The marigolds and the blanket flower are still blooming with prolific abandon. The daylily and lavender blooms are gone and now sweet memories. Thankfully, we haven’t had the terrible dry weather that has plagued the Midwest. Fresh produce has been plentiful around here and sale prices have been reasonable. We miss our large vegetable garden plots that we had at our former cottage, but we don’t miss the work!

We regularly catch glimpses of wildlife here at Grey Havens. The hummingbirds visit our feeders every minute or two. One of the feeders hangs right outside my home office window. So they give me plenty of smiles, particularly when they chase each other! A rabbit (Marty!) has been making a regular appearance in our front flowerbed areas. Last year, the little booger nibbled away on my begonias. This year, he’s been nibbling on the coral bell flowers. Oh well, a critter has to eat. Raccoon paw prints regularly crisscross our driveway, but actual sightings of the furry animal remain elusive. We continue to catch glimpses of foxes (including little ones!) and deer in our backyard, along the edge of the forest. We may live in a subdivision, but there is enough countryside for the critters to have homes too!

I hope that all of you have a lovely month of August!