A Hammock for Summer

Winter procrastination might lead to a fit of organizing  – but in August it should lead to sitting under the umbrella with a book – or lying in our new bluff furnishing – a hammock. I bought the hammock when we first came here – but only recently unrolled it when I got a stand. The label on the box read: “For those who take their leisure seriously.” My niece inaugurated the hammock on a recent visit, away from the city and nicely caught up in a big novel.

In spite of the incredible view, the bluff does seem like the best of a back yard now – deck, clothes line, picnic table, wooden chairs, flowerful Bride’s Garden. With a stand, the hammock can be moved to please the relaxer – that seems to be the goal, wanting people to enjoy – it’s shaded by trees in the morning and heated by sun to charge personal batteries in the afternoon.

For a couple of weeks now, marine air firmly blankets the Strait. Some days thick fog drips off the roof and into the rain barrels, and misty shreds and fibers trail through the garden and woods, but by mid-day the covers pull back and the garden emerges into full-on sun. A hazy, filmy throw of cold air can still cover the strait, chilling that air. Some days the sunset is hazed and diffused by cloud. Some days forest fires, northward in British Columbia, tinge the air yellow.

But most afternoons are perfect – under the garden umbrella for a quick cup of tea or even a glass of iced tea (not succumbing to the hammock), I can hear waves roll onto the beach below. All is quiet except for a white-crowned sparrow dad encouraging a fledgling with song samples and leaps to a tall stem of seeded grass. He pushes it over and eats, calling to the baby.

Sweet peas in pots bloom hot pink and purple. Cherries are bright red now – looking like real cherries – but not yet their dark burgundy of ripeness. Handfuls of blueberries are blue enough to pick.

All around is work to do – but August moves along – a little procrastination is in order.