Tuesday, September 16, 2008

So Long Summer


So. The end is near. What a run. Hot, hot weather; hazy, fiery sunsets; fabulous flowers, bumper crops of huckleberries. So many luxurious days lazing on the waters of the great state of North Idaho it felt like the summers of an earlier lifetime. I did things I that I haven't done for a long, long time--like canoe in Kidd Island Bay. I did things that were long overdue--like giving myself permission to let it be. I quit trying to express myself in words, instead letting the lens talk about where I was at. I even used prepositions at the end of sentences. It was such a great summer.

I love where I live. I am always so excited to run off somewhere that involves a passport but even more excited to come home. I love being an American. I love being from Idaho. And I love to drive to the grocery store; stroll downtown, watch the sunset in the Costco parking lot, go through Manito Park on the way to work. Listen to the sounds of functions and parties at the park on the way to the movies. I love the Centennial Trail, the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes, the Hiawatha Trail and the Prairie Trail. I love Medimont, Harrison, Enaville and Moscow. I love Huetter. I love Sherman Avenue. I love Silver Beach.

And everyday is such a gift. Every morning such a bouquet of sunbeams. Every afternoon so quietly, inexplicably special in the heavy summer air filled with bees and butterflies and the colors of leaves, flowers and sky, it's a bit of a problem to admit to or elaborate on how that makes me feel. Everyday. So I just don't say anything at all.

But now I offer thanks and call it all joy. Every precious second of all 93 days. Pure, unqualified joy.


JBelle
Bellemaison
The 'Kan EWA

14 comments:

Lindsey said...

It loves you back, just as much, by testimony of your pix. LOVED the Rose Parade.

The Fool said...

Carpe diem! Life is good when you take the time to smell the roses, eh? Glad to hear it was a summer for making memories. Enjoy!

JBelle said...

LL, So GLAD you liked the rose parade! When I cut them, quite often I also cut white hibiscus for the vase, too. I have never seen an orange hibiscus growing here but I understand they are absolutely killer in a hotter climate. :) A vase of roses on the kitchen counter is a jewel in the day, a blessing on the week and grace, pure grace in my life.

JBelle said...

Good morning Humble Fool,
You raise an excellent, obvious but for me overlooked, point. The roses, and we have all kinds of them here, do give you the best of all opporunities for contemplative thought and respite from frenetic pursuits and occupations of the day. And it was memories recaptured this summer that touched me so. I had forgotten so many things about summer here, and I have spent every summer of my life here, that are delicious, exquisite and sublime. I think it's good to count and enumerate the things that bless you. I don't do it enough. I'm looking forward to a beautiful fall, filled with bold colors and tastes and silent, strong moments.

green libertarian said...

I prefer the Dahlias, but, to each his own, Roses are second on my list.

;)

peace be with you.

Carla said...

I so get this. I love to travel, but there really is no place like home.

Christy Woolum said...

I so get this also. Did you also do the Kid Island Swim at Camp Neewahlu? I was never a dolphin so I could't do it. I love the idea of seeing summer through the lens and we share that same opinion that the places around home are the most dear. It is also so freeing to end a sentence with a preposition! lol.

MarmiteToasty said...

We didnt have a summer, the worst on recorded history, but we seem to be having a late push right now, chilly in the mornings but oh so glorious during the day, sods law right, school are back and now we get decent weather.... but chilly nights :) - will have to sort out me logs I suppose for me logfire before to long....

And order in a sack of coal from the coalman...

love you..

x

Julie said...

I'm just finishing some time off from the job and know exactly how you feel. I didn't go anywhere distant, but sat on my deck and enjoyed the beatuiful autumn weather. It was so relaxing and wonderful and the weather -- oh, the weather! I could get used to this quick! It was so quiet, beautiful and peaceful.

JBelle said...

The Libertarian! muah! I like dahlias, too. Love dahlias, even. But ya gotta dig 'em up! And store 'em. And label 'em. And find 'em in spring and then get them back in the ground. okay, I'm a baby. I haven't grown them for a few years but I might peruse the catalogs and get a few over the winter so this time next year I can surprise you with an eye-popping bouquet. A big one.

JBelle said...

hi Carla, No* place like home. I was in Aspen over the weekend and it was beautiful; but here it's sublime. It's overcast and cold, even, but it's sublime. I can't wait to take a walk in the garden and see what's different. Reading the morning paper, a local, is one of the best parts of the day. And coming home after work at the end of the day to my house, the Chow Nation and my garden, is a deep and profound blessing.

JBelle said...

Mrs. Roosevelt, I did do the Kidd Island swim! The seaweed, as we called it then, scared me to death! Just didn't want to be caught by the slimy seaweed. :9 I think this summer could be adequtely described as a Thoresque My Own Private Idaho event. Aquinas said contemplative thought is the basis of all spirituality and in my life, contemplative thought and the value thereof, is the lesson I learn and relearn and learn again. Some of us are just slow...

JBelle said...

Mel, ah, the solace of a nice fire. Makes me happy to even think about it. When I was putting in a gas fireplace here, which is what we do, sigh, I located a company out of the UK that manufactures gorgeous coal baskets fitted for gas fireplaces. So I ordered the design that holds coal in the real world but ordered little logs so my fireplace would still kinda look like the Pacific Northwest. I should probably photo it so you have some idea of what the heck I'm talking about, huh? ;)

JBelle said...

Julie, I have said for a long, long time I want to take a week off and stay home. Doesn't happen, though. But honestly, I just can'think of a better place to go than here. I would LOVE to do that. I am going to put up the pumpkin topiaries this weekend; I will photo the front porch where I like to sit and send it to you. And next time I sit and watch the world go by from the front porch, I will think of you.