Saturday Snapshot

 Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home with Books. To participate in this meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
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We are the third generation to live in, and enjoy, our farmhouse and the land that surrounds it. We have fields, woods, hills and valleys with a small creek that runs through it. I played in the water as a child, as my mom did before me, and as my children and grandchildren do now. As soon as it's warm enough we take our dogs there almost every day to cool off and play. We even got to sneak in a few visits already this month with the summer-like weather we were having. These photos are from last year and we can't wait to get back to our daily dips. With two retrievers we chase a lot of sticks!

Our swimming hole

Allie, the golden retriever, wades into the water to get a stick.

Cassy, the chocolate lab, leaps into the water every time!

Both girls successfully retrieve their sticks to be tossed again. And again. And again.

It's a sad, sad day

The time has come. It is with a heavy heart that I face my annual responsibility and put away my hammock until spring. Oh sorry, did you think I had some horrible disaster? Yep, that was sneaky but this is very traumatic for me every fall! I feel like there should be a brief ceremony and a bugle playing nearby. We have such a brief summer and our spring and autumn sometimes speed by in the blink of an eye. I love to be outside and the sunshine makes me happy. The green trees, blossoming flowers and freshly mown grass are a balm to my soul. I love to lounge in my hammock, barefoot with a good book. It calms me and makes me happy.

The change of seasons here is beautiful and there's plenty to do in those long (and I mean long!) winter months. The crisp weather brings a wonderful harvest and gorgeous colors along with the need to dig out the cozy sweaters, pretty scarves and fuzzy socks. But the older I get the more I long for summer. I certainly understand now why we have so many snowbirds (people who live here for the warm seasons than migrate south for the cold seasons). If I could afford two households I would do it too. I adapted to the Florida weather very quickly when we were on our recent vacation. Of course we were being pampered at a resort and it wasn't the middle of a sweltering July so we did have optimal conditions. Still, I think I could live in a hut on the beach just fine. Barefoot and with a book, of course.

Until then, my hammock is down and will be stowed away for several months. Luckily I have a cozy fireplace and a comfy couch (along with the requisite golden retriever) that are the perfect place to snuggle up and read. And I'm already wearing my fuzzy socks. How many months until spring?

(Yep, those are my tootsies in the Florida sand!)