Summer time, and the living is easy.  Right?  Summer is when many people go on vacations, the kids are out of school, and there are no heating bills (but there are cooling bills!).  Heat doesn’t agree with me, so summer is not my favorite season of the year; but we have gone on some great vacations.

Both the above photos were taken almost exactly a year ago, at the Dungeness Spit National Wildlife Refuge on the Olympic Peninsula.  The sea breeze off the water keeps it delightfully cool, so you can walk the beach and watch for driftwood and sea birds in comfort.

Our road trip to South Dakota in 2020 was at the tail end of summer, but it was quite warm.  We especially were grateful for the beautiful stream at Roughlock Falls, and had a pleasant afternoon sitting and listening to the flowing water.  On the right is the Needles, at Custer State Park-the rock formations were pretty spectacular.

What says “summer” more than scenes of Hawaii?  Surfers, and ladies doing their hula, are common sights in Lahaina, Maui.

What kind of work gets done mostly in the summer?  Roofing?  Our neighborhood is going through a roof-replacement on all of our homes, and the roofers were just across the street.  I noticed this employee taking a little rest in the shade, up on the roof!

And in the Pacific Northwest, where our skies are often cloudy year-round, it’s a blessing to see a totally clear sky.  I wonder if early-20th-century artist Maxfield Parrish might like the fact that his particular colors of a sky at dusk would go down the years as somewhat of a cliche?  This is right outside my house a couple of evenings ago.

Finally, would it be summer without the Independence Day fireworks?  Nope!  And this years were most excellent.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Here’s the Link to this week’s Original Post.  And a link to Tina’s post, too.