And the award goes to...

I'm back!

It's been a very hot summer with more 100 degree plus days than we deserved or wanted. We have no air conditioning and the computer is upstairs which is the last place I've wanted to be. Now that we're back to the moderate 90 degree temps, I've spent more time on the keyboard yesterday than I have all summer, combined.

Summer is winding down and the start of the school year is right around the corner, so it's time to achieve a little something to show for my time off--hence some actual blogging!

After a wonderful summer vacation last year roaming the Southwest and its parks for 2-1/2 weeks, this year summer events came to us. We didn't really contemplate any extensive vacationing with a new puppy anyway, but we had thought of going to visit some of the more far-flung family members who a) couldn't refuse to take the puppy because she is family too and b) are dog-lovers themselves and would understand and tolerate the chaos and ruin that our dogs traditionally bring with them. Fortunately for those relatives, they have come to see us instead.

So we've introduced them to Fanny Bridge, its super-sized trout and the beauty of Lake Tahoe. We've been kayaking and jet-skiing and rafting and rock collecting. They've spared my bottom the punishment of horseback riding and found entertainment in taking pictures of the taxidermied animals at Sportsmans Warehouse. They've helped move soil, dig, and dig some more, sod, build ponds, lug boulders, rearrange a garage and compliment the Gram's new house. We got to celebrate a 25th birthday with our son and exchange delayed gifts with a nephew and a very sweet little girl. And the summer isn't over and we get another short visit from still more relatives soon which we are looking forward to.

I did take one short little trip to visit the world's best sister while my sweetie was in another hemisphere. My nephew entertained Kharma while we attacked a tree root which was lifting her sidewalk and the Gram entertained the nephew while Pooh and I successfully recovered the Sixties-era dining chairs. We came back with the feeling of accomplishment and some black-and-blue salvia (Salvia guarantica) to try in our gardens.

But the best, most wonderful, most enchanting moment of the summer came when the phone rang at 4 pm last Wednesday and my sweetie's voice surprised me. We normally talk everyday he's gone, but cell phones don't work at 13,000 feet in the Andes. A co-worker had just brought along his satellite phone and they were giving it a try. Let me tell you, it was awesome. Crystal clear and no sound delay. I felt like I was right there beside him on the Puna, on a cold winter evening with the meteor showers overhead. I'm still smiling.