This was taken long before summer was expected but I think it fits the post… Sheila was kind enough to wear her bling for this January portrait with Kurt on my front porch. We had the longest, wettest winter-into-spring in a long while. Now, we are in the middle of August… it’s still cool and breezy like it has been since our Northwest summer began. I like it this way even if my tomatoes are late coming on… they are small but heartbreakingly sweet. Same thing with the blueberries… like candy.

My lucky young neighbors, Kurt and Kwen, have been in Taos and Santa Fe for the last week and I have been chicken-sitting for them… a set of morning and evening chores a little different from my usual routine. Joey cat has been coming across the street with me every morning but he has had the grace to wait outside the garden gate while I am busy. Fresh eggs everyday is something I could get used to.

July and August have been pretty busy but Opera Boy and I have managed a couple of sneaky days of playing hooky and enough yard work to keep it interesting. The new porch that we put on last year has been a shady haven for a little reading and Joey seems to like the chairs for his nap time.

If September stays a little slow, we will be taking a couple of days to ourselves at the coast. That’s when my chicken friends will trade back by cat-sitting our boys… it’s a lovely arrangement.

For my geek friends, all of these photos were taken with my Olympus PEN E-P2… some with the normal lenses but some with the Lensbaby Sweet 35. The opening shot was done during a session of beta testing for Lensbaby… something I really love being a part of!