My family alternates vacation spots every other year, and this year we spent our week long vacation in Door County (remember two years ago?) This year we did lots of new things while still doing our favorite traditions. I like that: the best of the old and the chance to make some new traditions as well. Tenny spent pretty much the whole week crawling around on the ground and absolutely covered with dirt while Indy and the cousins played in the woods near our campsite and caught tree frogs to put in Indy's new bug catcher. We picked cherries and went to a fish boil for the first time this year (both things Door County is known for - don't know how we got away with not doing either thing before) and ate plenty of good food, went to the beach, and went hiking. I was relieved to be back to our own bed and routine after it was over (a week sleeping in a tent with two littles, one of which still wakes up during the night as it is, is not for the faint of heart!) but of course I already miss the fires and fresh air and time spent as a family.

I have a ton of pictures to sort through and edit from the vacation to Door County that we took with my family a couple of weeks ago, but in the meantime I'm here with garden-related things. Do you see the squirrel in the first photo? That's my corn he's got in his mouth there. Ugh. Can someone buy me a BB gun for my birthday? I also planted sunflowers all along the fence but those two are the only ones that survived the squirrels' wrath. 

Alan seems to think that mid-August means that we can start talking about fall, but I try my best to strictly forbid such things until at least September for goodness sake. I mean, just now is the garden in full swing with bowls full of ripe things being carried inside regularly. We're eating peanut butter and homemade raspberry jam sandwiches, plucking and drying chamomile as it comes in, and enjoying homegrown carrots, tomatoes, jalapenos and cucumbers in all kinds of things. These are the days I'll dream of all winter long, I'm sure of it.