The Height Of Summer

 The weather has been quite lovely, so it's hard to stay home and tend to the house, and it needs a lot of tending to! Friday I felt like a long bike ride, so I headed to the Electric Rail Trail for 28 miles with a stop at mile 14 for a Greek chicken wrap for dinner. There were quite a few animals along the trail including a bobcat which was too fast for me to get a picture. There were too many rabbits and woodchucks to count, along with the usual deer and hawks.

Dinner break at Samascott Orchard Farm Store - a favorite destination on the trail. Basil and sunflowers are in the planter.

The horses were heading into the barn as it was the evening when I was heading back.

Hawk

The deer was completely unfazed as I stopped for a photo and a chat.

Saturday I joined a group of friends to hike up Bromley Mountain in Vermont. Seven miles and 1400 ft of elevation was fairly moderate, but it left me with no energy for anything else once I got home. 

The view from close to the summit. The haze is from Canadian wildfires.

On the very large fire tower with Spruce Mtn in the distance.

The grassy summit at the top of the chair lifts of the ski resort.
Lots of butterflies were in the air like the Greater Fritillaries.

A spicebush swallowtail.

Sunday was yard day. I mowed all of it which took about 4 hours including lunch and water  breaks. I try not to mow very often when it gets this hot and dry, so I do it about every 2 weeks. I'll be traveling on Wednesday, so it's all set for awhile. I had a nice chat with neighbors Paula and Bill during one of my breaks. They are such sweet people.

Monday was a quiet day in which I got my head around what to take to Aruba. Guests at my niece's wedding are requested to wear certain colors which does not sit well with me. However, I just happen to have a lot of that color, so I did not need to buy anything new. I did need a slip though, so I went to (gasp) the mall. Have I mentioned how much I detest shopping? After visiting five stores, I found what I needed and skedaddled home, back to laundry, gardening, and packing. 

So many squash blossoms! These will be mixed into my eggs in the morning,
as my Italian Dad taught me to eat them that way.

Garden flowers.

One of my favorite pleasures of summer is sitting on the porch, in a
rain storm, with a glass of wine and a good book.

 We got a welcome rain for about an hour this evening which was just enough to spare me the job of watering the garden. Later, I got a text from Tom, who I met on the Rhine cruise 2 summers ago, inviting me to join him and his friend Mike on a bike ride tomorrow. It's a good thing I got a good start on packing, so now I can go biking! I'd rather do that than fuss all day with packing, and probably just end up over packing. 

My squash blossom eggs on toast with a bit of parmesan.

I'm going to miss these beauties which are at the height of blossom.

There is a baby bunny (or two) living in the flower garden. 

The bike ridetoday was fabulous with Tom and Mike - both married to women who don't enjoy physical activities - and both who ride e-bikes. I was under my own steam and kept a good pace of 13 mph. It was good to catch up with Tom, who is facing the same challenge of caring for an older mother as I was. I will probably be joining him and his wife next summer on a bike tour of Ireland, along with my friends Janice and George. Being the only singleton no longer phases me, and I'm just going to enjoy all the travel I can.

We covered 24 miles in under two hours but the heat and humidity were high! I guess it's good practice for Aruba. I'm all packed, and so is my daughter and I'm just thrilled to spend the better part of a week with her!