I love August! It is my birthday month. Growing up, it was the time when we went on family vacation coming home to the time for thinking about back to school – I loved “back to school” :)!

Here in Montana, although it is typically the month with the hottest temperatures, we have almost turned that corner of being far enough from the solstice that there is enough darkness to cool things off quickly…and then it takes most of the day to reach that hottest temperature and it doesn’t stay there long. There is also a weather phenomonon that occurs around the 3rd week of the month where it gets very cool, sometimes “fire up the woodstove” cool.

And the best thing about August is that after August comes September and even if summer officially goes to nearly the end of September, September seems like Fall.

I am an outspoken proponent of living in the present, being grateful for each moment and being aware of the current moment…except for July :)! I have berated myself in past years for wishing away July but have finally given myself permission to not like July and look forward to it being over. For me, it turns out that is the way to enjoy July. In the mumbling, grumbling, “can’t we just get this over” mindset, I find myself enjoying the anticipation of getting through it and almost appreciating the annoyance…a kind of “it feels so good when it’s over” way of enjoying the moment and a sense of being close to something badly wanted.

And this July, certainly has not been the worst as far as heat. And we have had rain.

Yesterday and last night, rain and thunderstorms. Early yesterday morning, Karl and I boarded Wild Thing with the Jeep in tow and headed to town. The Jeep was dropped for a service appointment and we continued on our way to gather groceries and supplies. A heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning kept us in the WalMart parking lot for an hour but a fresh pot of coffee and some homemade biscotti got us through.

We moved to the Costco parking lot when things cleared. The clouds were spectacular – above as we headed out for a walk before shopping. There is a sports complex of soccer fields, baseball diamonds and 2 one mile loops for walking and running adjacent to Costco. The walking/running trails are on land that is to be a green buffer – pleasant to walk on and lots of Big Sky to see!

Oh…and just in case the August cool down is cool enough for a woodstove fire…

Just shy of 2 cords of firewood sit under cover.

Another cord of this downfall, cut and dumped in the splitting venue will be dry enough to split for this year and the rest will be a good start on next year. There is still some downfall to pick up and cut as well as some trees to take down to start drying, but this August 1, I am good for wood. AND, the chimney sweep is to be here Tuesday morning

August first morning…looking up :)!