Last Friday morning we went to a neighbor’s house to take advantage of her offer of tomatoes.  She had grown more tomatoes than she could possibly eat, so we were happy to take a basket of them home.

Banjo Man is a fan of little dogs, in case you didn’t already know.  And these little dogs loved him.  It was pretty darn funny how much they loved him.  But you can see from the photo that everyone was happy.

It has grown cooler here, but warm enough for some kayaking Friday evening.  Everywhere we go friends offer plums, apples and pears from their ample orchards.  I baked some upside down plum cakes, with mixed results, but this year I’m not canning anything.  I made three batches of apricot jam and decided to call it quits.

Before the batter goes on top.

It’s the social season around here.  Few of us still have company.  There is time for dinners at the Floater, card parties, a bluegrass concert in town, lazy kayaking in the bay, lunch at the Pantry and some leisurely wine-on-the-dock evenings before those early 7:15 sunsets.

A yummy blue margarita.

Special dessert.

Pre-bluegrass dinner at MickDuff’s.

I dearly love July, with my family around and the lake as a center of activity, but September has a different feel to it.  Sunny and quiet and calm, it’s a special time of year.