I heard on “This American Life” recently that, if an alien culture were to study human home videos for clues to our culture, they would conclude that we spend most of our time around pools or eating lavish holiday meals. Additionally, between the age of twelve and our eventual marriages (which could happen beyond thirty for many of us), not much that is interesting enough to film takes place.
According to my digital photos, my time is spent in similar ways – gardening, hanging out in the mountains, near various bodies of water natural and manmade, and always,
always, in the company of a forty pound Blue Heeler who likes to pose. The appearance of a trampoline always increases the amount of photographic evidence available.
Summer is never long enough, though it’s hard to know exactly when it starts or ends in Colorado. It’s still my favorite season, and I try to savor it while I also feel it ungraciously slipping away from me. In celebration, here is what I have squeezed in so far.
This is my first year planting food from seeds. The weekly gardening show on Colorado Public Radio tells me that
The Food Network’s programming is largely influential on the growing number of urban gardeners such as myself. My cucumber plants are now large and fluffy, and sported bright yellow flowers as of yesterday.
I'm told that corn is hard to grow, and if it isn't "knee high by the 4th of July", you may as well abandon all hope and buy a forty nine cent ear at Safeway. Last week my corn was almost knee high...
...and this week it's certainly knee high (on July 6th), and definitely dog high.
I've also been blessed this summer with lots of free roses (though it took several hours of weeding for them to look this good)...
...and many opportunities to watch the dog swim (he also loves summer),
I attended a small town little league game by which my nephew Noah seems unimpressed (or is it just that his Crocs are on the wrong feet?),
and watched my niece and nephews' lips turn blue at the pool.
Summer wouldn't mean anything without a road trip to the other side of the Mississippi in a really hot car...
...or a campfire breakfast in Steamboat.
Lastly, I'd like to acknowledge this lady moose for making an appearance the day I spent riding in the backseat with my cousin while my parents drove us from Denver to Estes Park, through the entire Rocky Mountain National Park, and all the way back to Denver, returning me home well past dark.
I like her style.
In August the Citizen Pictures crew will head to Leadville to again document the Leadville Trail 100 mountain bike race. If last year is any indication, I may experience all four seasons on race day, especially the rainy, snowy, sleety ones. I will be wearing several layers and am looking forward to the ride! I will add this to my summer 2010 bucket list.
Katie Jewett