. . . . there was a season called Summer.

It never came to Boone.  The End.

On top of Grandfather…  All covered with wind.

So we’ve been having a bit of a cold spell.  You desert dwellers will think fondly of cold spells during the summer as a time when it doesn’t get over 100 degrees for a few days in a row.  As a time when you might be able to eat an ice cream cone before it becomes sugar soup.  Well, what the Boonians (my new favorite word) call a ‘cooler than average summer’ to me is FREEZING BECAUSE I REFUSE TO TURN ON THE HEATER IN AUGUST, JUST AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE.  As I type this I am wearing fingerless mittens, and wondering how to heat my nose.  We’ve had a few days that got close to 80, and a lot of days where getting to 70 would have been considered a scorcher.  And don’t get me started on Foggy August.

Grandfather Mountain suspension bridge

Foggy August!  So, apparently, for every day in August that is foggy, you are supposed to expect a major winter snowstorm.  Well, isn’t that quaint, considering every. morning. but. one. has been foggy so far.  If that turns out to be even remotely true, come next April, send someone with a pickaxe and a chisel.  You will find me inside the wood stove.

Humor (and cooler than average temps) aside, summer here is beautiful.  We spend the evenings that we can sitting on the deck, sipping tea, listening to the beautiful sounds and watching the light show.

That’s right, we had visitors!  First, in June, Alex’s mom and daughter came to visit.  We caught some fireflies (and then ‘Let Them Go, Let Them Go’), and then went to the Biltmore.

Getting ready to move in!

Alex enjoyed the gardens…

Not too long after the gals left, Alex’s sons came to visit.  We picked them up in Raleigh, and then headed on to DC.  They were so excited to see it!

Dude, where’s my bed?

Well, maybe we stuck them on a red-eye and they were a little beat on the drive up.  But we had a great time when we got there, did a segway tour, walked forever, and had bucket water.

The boys!

So that’s mostly what we’ve been up to in the months of my disappearance from the blog.  That, and taking pictures of all the flowers that are blooming around the house.  I’m only posting a couple here, the rest I’m saving for something special, he he.

Because who can resist water droplet pictures. I didn’t even have to use a spray bottle, water just falls from the sky!

A Redus Giganticus

Northus Carolinus Yuccaus

Have I mentioned it’s impossible to resist the pull of water droplets?

Okay, desert denizens, this is what happens when you water weeds.

Well, that’s all for now.  My fingers are stiff enough so that typpppinnnngggg isssss beecccooommminnnnggggg difffffffiiiccuullllttttt…