Kim McMahill

“And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, in dimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.” - Pico Iyer -

Gardening is one of my passions. I love coaxing life out of the soil and the opportunity to eat fresh produce in which I have total control over production is comforting. I know for a fact there where no chemical fertilizers or pesticides anywhere near my garden. By August, the bounty of the land is amazing and it brings me great joy.

“To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.”  Hans Christian Andersen The Fairy Tale of My Life: An Autobiography

This is the first summer in three years that the birds haven’t eaten all the small tart cherries on the tree in my backyard before the fruit was ripe enough to pick. For some reason they decided to show mercy on me and left enough to make syrup. Though, I now understand why people just buy pancake syrup in the grocery store. It was quite the process to turn this colander of fruit into a quart of syrup. Despite the effort, I got a lot of satisfaction knowing that the cherries came from my yard, and for that, the pancakes only tasted better.

“But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”  Bill Bryson ,  Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe

I may not be up for climbing any famous 14ers, but thankfully in Colorado some can be accessed by road. Pikes Peak was amazing and the views stunning, but Mt. Evans totally blew me away. Not only is Mt. Evans a fraction taller, but it’s a little more open so you can really enjoy the scenery. But, the highlight of the trip was seeing all the Mountain Goats around 14,000 feet elevation. I especially loved catching a glimpse of all the young lambs. Nothing is cuter than a baby animal.

“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.”  Anna Quindlen ,  How Reading Changed My Life

August is full of silly days, and just a few days of significance. Surprisingly, this is not all I found. Take a look and see if any of these days are worth a little extra celebration. August 1: National Girlfriends Day and National Mountain Climbing Day August 2: National Ice Cream Sandwich Day August 3: International Beer Day and National Watermelon Day August 4: Campfire Day, International Hangover Day, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, National Mustard Day, National Clown Day, and most importantly U.S. Coast Guard Day August 5: Friendship Day, International Forgiveness Day, National Underwear Day, Sisters Day, Work Like a Dog Day August 7: National Lighthouse Day August 8 Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day August 9: Book Lovers Day August 10: Lazy Day, National S’mores Day August 11: Presidential Joke Day and Son and Daughter Day August 12: Middle Child’s Day August 16: National Tell a Joke Day August 18: Bad Poetry Day and National