Summer Break: Abridged

     Technically, it's not even mid-Summer yet, so why am I getting ready to go back to work?  I just got out of school and haven't made a dent in my pile of books or cleaned out my bedroom closet.  Sam's room hasn't gotten done, either, and I still have to pack and deliver all the hand-me-downs from Spring cleaning.  I haven't gone to visit cousin Lucy, I haven't helped my mother organize her "treasures" and Mt. Crappity Crap in the laundry room still hasn't been scaled.  My son hasn't gotten a single board installed in his tree fort, but he can keep dreaming because I still haven't gotten the pool filled up all the way.
    Since I am starting my sixteenth year of teaching with a new assignment I am having to attend a good bit of pre-back-to-school training and planning sessions as well as make home visits to twenty families.  Then I have to turn my old art room into a new pre-kindergarten room and be ready for my babies on August 22nd.  Four weeks from today.  That means Sam has a whole month left of his break before he goes back to school.  Poor Grandma.
     As I stared disbelievingly at my calendar I thought to myself that it's a shame that we haven't done anything this summer.  But we have.  I flipped through my phone's camera roll and found a good bit of photographic evidence that the kids and I have had plenty of Summer Fun.

     Before I had even gotten done with post-planning, Sara was already having a blast at Auburn University's Vet camp.  She went up there wanting to be an equine veterinarian but came back all about the cows.  She made some new friends and got a good feel for dorm life and came home all ready to make the grades it takes to get to go there.  That's exactly what I had hoped for.  I was afraid she may decide to change career paths altogether.

     When Sara got back I hauled the kids down to Liberty county to the Blue Creek Cemetery in Hosford.  That's where we came across this bird feeder atop a Mason jar stand.  That's local color.  We also photographed the grave markers of my great-great-great-grandparents Henry and Abigail Colvin who died in the 1860s.  We then drove on down to Smith Creek Cemetery in Wakulla county and photographed the gravestones of Grandpa Major's people. Lots of memories in that churchyard.

     As July drew closer the tomato crops came in and I was fortunate enough to have friends in the business.  Viva la salsa!  I had never tried it, but a couple of friends came over and we got to peeling and dicing and chopping and by the end of the day we had a couple of nice batches of spicy fresh salsa.  I got brave when another box of tomatoes arrived and I tried a batch myself.  As the Lord said, it was good!  This Spring I purchased five flats of strawberries from a local youth group and froze them for jam, so in July I jammed.  It was also good.  I shall be making more soon, but it is time for peaches now.

      July was busy for Sara, too, as she helped our friends with the huge task of adding a new pasture and fencing it.  They finished just in time to move the horses into it before the start of the Fourth of July Fireworks.  That was a long, hot, nasty day and I think they reveled in the downpour that got them just as they finished for the evening.  That's Sara removing Bubba's halter.  He was the first horse for Higher Standards Farm and a lot of folks have learned to ride on that sweet, patient boy.  And he's sexy.  Ask anybody.

     Throughout the summer Sam built fort after fort throughout the house. I gave him free reign for building in the house until the middle of August since it is entirely too hot for him to be outside all day.  He has done pretty well with the picking up of his construction zones even as Fort #10 now rests behind the couch.

     Week before last, Sam and I joined a couple of old friends at their lake house in Jackson county where Sam got his first knee-boarding lesson.  My friend's daughter is quite good at it and patiently helped Sam figure out how to balance and coached him when it was time for the boat to pull him out.  He was brave and had good balance, but the whole water-up-the-nose thing was too much for one day.  He'll try again later, but I was so proud of him for giving it a shot.

Last week Sam attended a summer camp program at the Tallahassee Museum of Natural History.  He learned all about poisonous plants and insects and a few spiders, but the snakes were the best part.  Next time you see him, try to make him say the word "venomous."  Each morning after dropping Sam off with his leader, Sara and I went through the nature trails on the museum site.  There we saw the baby deer come up for their breakfast, the black bear foraging for his morning treats and the young panther batting his toys around and heckling the staffer cleaning his cage. Usually, the animals are hiding in the shadiest spots they can find and we don't get to see them doing what they do.  The morning feed rounds were amazing because all the critters were excited and out enjoying the coolest part of the day.  It was so peaceful to stand out there and watch them.  I miss starting my day with them.
     So it looks like Summer 2011 wasn't lost after all.  We went a few places, built a few things, jammed a lot, and thanked God for air conditioning.  I have exorcised a few demons through writing, reconnected with some old friends and lost 250 pounds.  (He was a big boy!)  Not bad for a six-week run.