Double digits of August. Ponder that a moment. If you are a teacher it looms huge and heralds the return to school. If you are a writer that takes the summer off you look ahead to getting back to your desk. The evenings are a bit shorter, the night and early morning air a bit cooler. The garden is bursting with peas, beans, and small cucumbers hang from the vines. The corn rows are taller, the sunflowers continue to reach toward the sky. Our renovations continue to slowly but surely progress changing our home weekly. The girls are gone leaving a lovely July behind. I face each day with the wonder of choice. Rain soaked the dry ground and gave everything a boost. I will attend to tasks to assist my father in his present stage of life.We approach the first year anniversary of loosing Mom.Burton and I look ahead to our days of travel and adventure in September. But today is August. Today I will swim. I will putter away at household tasks enjoying the sun streaming through new windows. I will pick peas and beans. I will cook a turkey from last year as I watch this year’s parading through our fields.We will feast on new vegetables and welcome a friend to our table. The week ahead holds some lunch dates with friends,and an invitation to Denise’s camp for the third summer book club. Planning, processing and playing, all the gifts August gives me.