"August of another summer, and once again I am drinking the sun….” ~Mary Oliver, “The Pond"

August 1

When dinosaurs, cows, and giraffes ruled the world

Ella enjoys taming these animals as did all my other grands before her.

Her mom tamed Ella’s wild hair into this sweet bun.

August 3

First day of 4th grade for grandson Knox

Last year of elementary school

First day of sophomore year for grandson Elijah

Don’t know what they were discussing

My guess would be a video game

August 6

Getting ready for our Friday walk

Don’t even try to help her do anything

Her personal mantra is:

’She believed she could, so she did.'

Things we see on our walk:

Kitty cat paw prints in the sidewalk

Modern fossils

Things Ella collects on our walk:

Flowers, leaves, sticks

She finds it all worthy to bring with her along the way

August 7

Knox and a couple of his buddies at the county fair

This was the last fair at the current fairground location 

which the Putnam County fair has called

 home for the past 61 years out of its 95 year history. 

 They watched the demolition derby and then 

ended up getting to ride only two rides because the lines were

so long on the last night.

August 10

Hanging out at the playground

August 11

Neil has worked hard the past several weeks replacing broken

limestone on the path that runs along the north side of the house.

Cutting stones to fit and then getting it all level is

tedious labor in the August heat and humidity.

But it’s going to look great when he’s finished.

August 12

We are not lacking in rainfall this month

August 13

Time for our Friday walk in the neighborhood

We usually stop at our house and she always wants to play upstairs

She discovered my little collection of bent willow chairs

which are perfect for a gathering of huggable friends

August 14

Speaking of huggable friends...

Big friend hugs at VBS

August 15

Love those Oreo McFlurries

Where did the flu go? Just wondering.

August 17

One of the teachers at the elementary school across the street

brings her goats to roam in a fenced in area at the school.

The kids love to watch them and sometimes share

an apple slice or two

August 17

Grandson Elijah celebrated his 15th birthday

He’s looking forward to getting his driver’s permit soon 

August 18

Edge to edge, corner to corner

She colored every inch of this 12x12 sheet of paper

Found a 4-leaf clover and wasn’t even searching for one

Lucky guy

August 20

Autumn is coming

Friday walk

“Here, Gwanny, hold my weaf."

Two more old maples bite the sawdust on our street

They were topped long ago and also starting to decay from the inside out

Last month, one of the larger branches fell, blocking the whole street

They were beautiful in the fall with their orange and yellow leaves

Hated to see them go

August 21

August 22

We never go to Starbucks

But when we do….

The Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappacino is good

and apparently is now on their permanent menu in case you’re interested

August 23

Granddaughter Shelby is a junior in college this year

majoring in biology with emphasis on marine biology

She spent her first two years of college here in town but never really

got to enjoy the college experience of a large campus, and then

the virus forced her into isolation, taking her classes online which was zero fun.

Now, for the first time ever, she’s living far from home (well, a couple of hours drive away)

navigating this new chapter in her life, as she dives into her major studies.

I know she’ll do well, and though we miss her being here, she’s only a Face Time call away.

(Good grief, I got all teary-eyed just typing this)

Love you, Shelby!

August 25

With a church van full of fellow workers, Neil and I traveled to the non-profit 

Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort in Nashville 

to help pack boxes filled with food and other necessary supplies

that will be taken to recent flood victims in west Tennessee, North Carolina,

and other places that need assistance in their recovery. 

The assembly line moves along at a rapid pace for two hours non-stop,

but with probably 150-200 helping hands, it’s amazing how quickly

the time passes while packing 1500 boxes.

Disaster Relief also helps rebuild homes and replace furniture and appliances

with brand new items. It’s a cause that’s certainly worthy of your monetary donations.

https://www.disasterreliefeffort.org

August 27

Friday fun at the playground

She was (happy) screaming at the top of her lungs

August 28

Ella is back in swim lessons every day at the local YMCA

although she’s not learning to swim at this point.

She’s being instructed in the life-saving skill of flipping

herself over in the water from facedown to floating

on her back. She’s doing quite well and is starting to move past

the panic I’m sure she’s felt during this, but her mom says 

Ella didn’t cry yesterday or today.

So…progress. Yay, Ella!

August 30

Minding my own business, shopping at Walmart, when this bag of candy corn

flings itself right off the shelf and into my shopping cart.

True story.

Kidding. I know there are people who have already decked their halls

with all things autumn, but I like to live in the season we happen to be in now.

Summer will be gone soon enough. I’m going to enjoy shorts and flip flops while I can.

However….

I won’t stop a bag of candy corn from flinging itself into my shopping cart at Walmart.

August 31

“...August: the summer's last stand.” 
― Sara Baume

“August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.” ― Sylvia Plath

August 1

Granddaughter Shelby on the job at Kirkland's

She's working part time, plus she'll be starting her sophomore year in college later this month

Shelby and her aunt Kelly

{I stole borrowed these Snapchats from Kelly}

 August 3

Grandson Knox started the third grade

Masks are mandatory in schools here

August 3

Knox and his coaches pitch baseball team played their first game of this delayed season. They had enough kids for two teams, so they play each other each game. Knox's team won this one big time.

August 5

Granddaughter Ella clomping around in her brother's shoes

On the wrong feet of course

August 7

Ella's final swim lesson with this instructor who was very proud of how far Ella had come in the last six weeks. Ella had just flipped herself from face down and onto her back to float with no prompting from the instructor or her mom.

August 11

Ella's first day of preschool

This was the first time mom and dad had left her for a whole day with virtual strangers

She was not a happy camper

August 15

I know. I take pictures of random things. Just happened to notice this light fixture outside the window at Romo's Mexican Restaurant.

Thought it was pretty cool

August 15

Pretty pink clouds floating over the Putnam County Fairgrounds ...

... and over our church building

August 16

Granddaughters Ella and Shelby stylin' in their hats ...

... and Ella stylin' in her cool shades

Ella and her brother Knox bustin' some moves to the music playing outside the restaurant

August 16

Daughter Holly took these pics of her kiddos Elijah and Shelby

All are suitable for framing

August 17

Elijah celebrated his 14th birthday

A first for him at their new house

j

August 18

Ella had better days her second week at school

Minnie Mouse did, too

August 18

Knox after school

He's been devouring this series of books and was eager to finish this one so he could start the next one

August 20

Ella's bouquet of expired Tulip Poplar leaves she gathered from the backyard

Our tree always starts to shed its leaves long before the end of summer

August 20

Kelly's capture of this spectacular summer sunset

Kelly, Kerry, and Kids out for an evening stroll {roll} around the neighborhood

August 22

Kelly and kids and Neil and I visited Amazing Acres, a short drive away

This farm is well known for their huge pumpkin patch in the fall

This was my first visit. I had no idea they grew oceans of sunflowers, too.

We paid for a tall plastic bucket 
{serrated knife provided} 
and set out to cut however many sunflowers we wanted

It's hard not to go for the biggest ones

We'd just got started when the sky turned black and released a torrential windy downpour on us and everyone else who was unfortunate enough to be caught in this rainstorm

I think we're the only ones who brought umbrellas 
{rain was threatening but we weren't expecting this flood}

Kelly and Ella shared an umbrella, and Neil and I shared an umbrella

Everyone else ran for shelter near the parking lot

The rains came down for probably twenty minutes, soaking us in spite of our umbrellas, and splattering our feet and legs with mud

If you look closely at Kelly's white pants, you can see the mud

Knox had crawled underneath this old flatbed truck since we didn't have room for one more under our umbrellas, but he ended up wet and muddy and the back of his shirt smeared with grease from the truck. In hindsight, we may have been better off making a run for it.

The rain eventually stopped and here we are, our clothes soaked, our legs and feet muddy, but hey, we got some sunflowers and a memorable afternoon at Amazing Acres of Fun 

It was fun

Plus, we got a beautiful rainbow

August 24

This watermelon tasted as sweet and juicy as it looks

It was so good that we ate half the melon and just about made ourselves sick

August 26

She's a good girl

loves her Mama

loves Jesus

& America

{& Bomb Pops}

August 27

Bee Day at school

Ella and her classmates enjoyed watching the bees in their hive

August 27

Enjoyed having dinner with these two

Elijah is a freshman in high school this year, and Shelby just started her sophomore year in college

August 29

Lunch in the car at Chick Fil A with Kelly and kiddos

One last peach shake for me before it disappears from the menu til next year

Ella was in the mood for peekaboo while we waited for our lunch

What!? They're out of Chick-Fil-A sauce!?

That face you make when you're trying to be happy about the sauce they gave you instead, did not ask for, but will eat anyway because you gotta have sauce for your nuggets 

August 30

Opposites attract

August 31
End of school day
End of August
Already

"August rushes by like desert rainfall,
A flood of frenzied upheaval,
Expected,
But still catching me unprepared.
Like a matchflame
Bursting on the scene,
Heat and haze of crimson sunsets.
Like a dream
Of moon and dark barely recalled,
A moment,
Shadows caught in a blink.
Like a quick kiss;
One wishes for more
But it suddenly turns to leave,
Dragging summer away."
-  Elizabeth Maua Taylor 

“The crickets felt it was their duty to warn everybody that summertime cannot last forever. Even on the most beautiful days in the whole year – the days when summer is changing into autumn – the crickets spread the rumor of sadness and change.” – E.B. White

"Summer's lease hath all too short a date."  
-  William Shakespeare