Jules, of Pancakes and French Fries, hosts a monthly color story series. Each month, you see, she recaps the month before with a series of photos, each woven together with a theme of color. She’s inviting us to join the fun! You can find the details here. As you see, ‘Cotton’ wrapped August; ‘Russet’ shall color September.

Dear August, You sucked.

Oh wait, that’s not at all how it’s done, now is it?! Please hold. {rewind}

Dear August, I feel as though you sucked.

Oh sure, you gave me flowers …

You made certain my days would be filled with friends and family; you even went so far as to throw in a cute animal or two …

But behind it all you were wily, slovenly, and otherwise up to no good …

Just when it would appear we might be friends, you’d turn on me, like a Praying Mantis on her honeymoon. Remember that particularly hard day, when I slipped off the deck? Sure, I wasn’t that hurt; and laying in the grass bemoaning every injustice of the last three years may have been going a bit far. But it’s not like you were without fault. You, my friend, hit below the belt. 

Thankfully, the time has come to bid you adieu…

I’m moving on, forging ahead, shaping up and shipping out. And while I hope to never see the likes of you again, you tend to cast a broad shadow.

I guess that leaves me no choice, but to look up …

And trust that He will make my path straight—no matter how catawampus you may have made it appear.

Sincerely,

Amy

Jules, of Pancakes and French Fries, hosts a monthly color story series. Each month, you see, she recaps the month before with a series of photos, each woven together with a theme of color. She’s inviting us to join the fun. You can find the details here. As you see, ‘Peacock’ {that would be blue} strutted its stuff in June; ‘Silver’  shall be reflected in July.

After being stuck in-of-doors for months on end, I had big plans for me and my camera; big plans. For instance, I totally envisioned a trip to the zoo–all for a photo of a peacock, for this here color story. How clever am I? Alas, it didn’t happen. This is as close to a peacock as I got … it’s not even an animal, nor is it blue …

And we have the most beautiful birds visiting our garden this year; they’re black and yellow and red, with blue and green highlights. They chatter, and fly through the sprinkler, and otherwise make the most of summer–but the minute I grab my camera, they’re gone. I cannot tell you the failed attempts … or the various ways in which I attempted stealth mode to throw them off. All for naught, my friends. This fellow apparently felt sorry for me, for he stuck around to strike a pose …

The only photo that really turned out, was totally unintentional. I snapped a photo of a bird floating  near our paddle boat, all to take my mind off the fact that I was near dead. And I’ll tell you now, that water was not blue …

That’s right, I said paddle boats. Furthermore, it was a group of ladies and one child; there was absolutely no excuse for our behavior …

Though I must admit, it did make us laugh … albeit nervous laughter. After all, the thought of a paddle boat upping our eligibility for the Darwin Awards was funny … kind of …

But we lived to tell the tale. Dare I say, we even had fun …

That’s right, despite the continued uncertainty of July, fun won out. Mum and I took a road trip and visited a friend; we gloried in the beauty of Shoshone falls and watched the insanity of BASE jumpers. We finally got a miracle we’ve been praying for {more on that later}. We ate al fresco. We meandered the park. We had fresh flowers adorning our home. And I attended the annual car show, with my grandma and a couple of her friends, at “the home” …

I have to say, they really outdid themselves this year. One of the new additions was a 1917 Pierce Arrow; the owners had opened up the front so you could see the engine and what-not. ‘What-not’ including the horn–which was actually a horn–at which point I completely freaked out. Clapping, flailing my arms, and pointing, I exclaimed, “It’s a horn, an actual horn–as in a bugle!” That’s about the time my grandma and her friends shuffled off and the men looked at me as if to say, “Kids nowadays, they know nothing…” Well I just beg to differ: I do know a thing or two. If nothing else, I know a month that begins with a three-day holiday can’t be all bad …

So let’s make it a good one!