Treason

The final day of August is off to a fine start. A warm wind from the south massages the body and stirs the soul. Patches of blue share the sky with fast-moving clouds. The grass, remarkably enough, is still green.
Even so, there are signs that the end of summer is not far off: a few fallen leaves, goldenrod in full bloom, a subtle change of shade in the green of the forest. I am not quite ready to let go of the season, but feel it slipping through my fingers. It has been a good summer.
Yesterday I put all but the last of the peaches into two pies. I cheated (store-bought crust)because I was pressed for time. I shared one pie with folks at church and sent the other with Kathy to school. I have just one peach left, an excellent specimen I intend to eat with my lunch today.
As the calendar turns, I must turn my attention to a major writing project. I've already received the advance check and the stack of books I need for research sits and stares silently at me from the window sill behind my desk. I find myself procrastinating, resisting getting started just as much as I am resisting letting go of summer. I suspect the two cases are related. Somehow, taking hold of this new project will signal the end of summer.
As I consider my predicament, the words of Robert Frost come to mind:

Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?

(Reluctance, final stanza)

Soon I will begin what I must, but not without regret.

A Rare Treat

Of late I've been amusing myself with fantasies of selling things for inflated prices on EBay. I figure it is all in the descriptions. For instance, last night I made some jam from the scrawny peaches which grew on the white peach tree in my backyard. As I was stirring it occured to me that with the right marketing strategy I could sell this homemade concoction for megabucks. So when it was cooling in the jars, I grabbed a piece of paper a composed the following label:

2005
New Windsor
White Peach Jam

This rare jam is handmade in small batches, using only selected fruit grown on a single tree located near New Windsor, Maryland. Its delightful sweetness and intense peach flavor are the result of peaches permitted to fully ripen on the tree before they are carefully picked and processed.

Enjoy!

It is excellent jam, but I doubt I'll be selling any, on EBay or otherwise. Still, I have no doubt that there are people out there all too willing to pay exorbitant prices for ordinary items. Hooray for the Internet, which helps us find them!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

This has been the summer of baseball for me – as of Monday, I’ve attended ten professional games: two Frederick Keys games, a Peoria Chiefs game in Illinois, a Cedar Rapids Kernels game in Iowa, a Reading Phillies game and a Philadelphia Phillies game in Pennsylvania, a Washington Nationals game and 3 Orioles games. Sadly, my beloved Cubs are fading fast, but all in all, I must say that I’ve enjoyed myself this season. I might even squeeze in another game or two before it’s over – an even dozen sounds good to me.
In case you haven’t been there lately, I should tell you that a trip to the old ballpark isn’t just about baseball anymore. There are picnic pavilions, swimming pools and hot tubs, mascots and merry-go-rounds. There is also a lot of between-innings entertainment. One of my favorite moments during this baseball summer was watching what the folks in Reading call “The Human Hamster Ball Race.” They put two people in huge clear plastic balls that roll just like the plastic balls that hamsters run about in, and then those two people race, regularly bumping into each other and knocking each other off balance. It looked like a blast, and was great fun to watch.
On the other hand, I regret to say that one of my least favorite between-innings entertainments has become ubiquitous – the infamous “Kiss Cam.” This involves cameras around the stadium zooming in on unsuspecting men and women sitting side by side in the stands. The picture is then projected up onto the jumbotron screen for everyone to see, under the words “Kiss Cam.” If the couple sees themselves up on the screen, they are supposed to kiss. If they do, people applaud. If they kiss passionately, people cheer. If they don’t kiss at all, people boo.
Of course, the people with the cameras only point the cameras at pairs they assume are couples – husband and wife or boyfriend/girlfriend. But frequently it is painfully obvious that the people with the cameras have assumed wrong – they have paired up people who are strangers or siblings or otherwise have no reason to want to kiss each other, especially with 40,000 people watching.
So now, if you go to a ball game you have this to worry about. What if a woman you don’t know sits down beside you and the two of you end up on the Kiss Cam? And what if, even though you don’t know her from Eve, she decides to try to kiss you anyway, because she doesn’t want to be booed? And what if when she tries to kiss you, your wife is sitting right there on your other side? Well, maybe I’ve given this way too much thought, but in the end it comes down to this – I just don’t like being put on the spot.

Blue Ribbons and Blackberries

How in the world did it get to be August already? While the weather remains warm (make that hot), the days are noticably shorter. It is too early for leaves to start changing, but there is a clear sense that it isn't far off.
I've been busy picking blackberries, which are abundant on the edge of the woods. I've given a lot away and made a couple of batches of jelly. I've also paid the price in thorns that have had to be extricated with needles and tweezers.
The county fair is being held this week. Tomorrow I'll go to watch our youngest daughter parade her 10 month old heifer around in what my wife refers to as a beauty contest for cows. My daughter takes offense, but that is essentially what it is. It is a nice calf and should do well in the competition. My daughter has already taken three blue ribbons, for pickles, a pumpkin cake and peanut butter cookies. It is fun for all of us to see her get recognition, but the hours are long. Tomorrow she wants to be there at 4 am to start getting ready for the show at 9. Guess I'll be losing more sleep.
Next week is our last of vacation for the summer. I don't really need more time away, but I'll take it.