August is ripening grain in the fields blowing hot and sunny, the scent of tree-ripened peaches, of hot buttered sweet corn on the cob. Vivid dahlias fling huge tousled blossoms through gardens, and joe-pye-weed dusts the meadow purple.

~ Jean Hersey (American author and gardener; 1902 – 1997)

Can you feel the drowsy warmth of an August afternoon and the fast-approaching end of another summer? Get outside, breath deeply, and enjoy it while you can: Take a walk in your garden, spend a morning in a peach orchard, or go for a bike ride along a country road . . . . And take someone with you! You’ll be glad you did!

Gratefully shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& summer savorer!)

“A cloudless sky; a world of heather,
Purple of foxglove, yellow of broom;
We two among it, wading together,
Shaking out honey, treading perfume.
Crowds of bees are giddy with clover,
Crowds of grasshoppers skip at our feet,
Crowds of larks at their matins hang over,
Thanking the Lord for a life so sweet.”
~ Jean Ingelow (English poet and novelist; 1820 – 1897)

Gladly shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& glad summer celebrant)

“A break in the heat
away from the front
no thunder, no lightning,
just rain, warm rain
falling near dusk
falling on eager ground
steaming blacktop
hungry plants
thirsty
turning toward the clouds
cooling, soothing rain
splashing in sudden puddles
catching in open screens
that certain smell
of summer rain.”

~ Raymond A. Foss (Summer Rain)
Shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& summer rain rejoicer)