Summer At Its Best

 

I’m not sure everyone in the Pacific Northwest would agree with me, but we’ve had a pretty great summer.  It’s only hit 90 degrees two days so far this year, and most of the summer has been in the 70’s – which for me is just about perfect.  I know most people around here like to see the warmth, but I’m just fine with seeing the sun and not feeling too much heat!  When I look at a national weather map and we’re the only area of the continental United States with a green temperature color, I can’t help but feel that we live in a pretty idyllic spot.

For me, the best of summer isn’t the heat; it’s the special things we get to enjoy that only come around once a year.  Flowers in every shade of color come to mind first.  When you live in a place that is gray for several months a year, bursts of color seem all that more exciting and appreciated!

 

  

Next for me are the berries – strawberries in May/June, raspberries in June/July, and marionberries in July.  Each year I gather many flats of each kind to make delicious freezer jam to last all year long – and of course I make a few pies and cobblers to enjoy right away!

 

 

Summer always ends with another special treat: my favorite gravenstein apples.  I always buy enough boxes of these to slice and freeze so I can have homemade applesauce year-round.  I know there are lots of good-tasting apples in Washington State, but nothing beats a gravenstein for making applesauce and pies!

 

So you can have your hot weather.  I’ve always said that if I didn’t like Washington’s weather, I’d live somewhere else!  As we near the end of this summer, I’m just thankful for God’s wonderful provision of variety for us – and that I get the privilege of living in such a wonderful part of his world.