August is here, and at the little house in the big woods, it is a month of promise. So far, it has been a terrible summer with either too much rain or too much heat. However, the past few days have been lovely—hot, dry days and cool evenings—and it has felt as though the end of July was getting ready for August, usually one of the most beautiful months in Maine. My husband, Clif, and I sure hope August will be true to form this year.

Because of the weather, we’ve hardly ridden our bikes, but with the first of August, we are filled with determination—that we will ride most every day and then plan a couple of long treks at the end of the month. We’ll pack our granola bars and our lunch, and off we will go. This year we want to ride around Lake Cobboseecontee, which spans 5 towns—Manchester, Winthrop, Monmouth, West Gardiner, and Monmouth. It’s a long, long lake, but what makes this ride a challenge isn’t the distance but rather the hills. It’s got some big ones, that’s for sure.

We also want to host a couple of gatherings on our patio. Fresh vegetables are coming into their own, and I have plans for grilled zucchini stuffed with feta, fresh thyme, and honey. Our friends Steve and Margy are coming over on Sunday, and we hope to have a leisurely afternoon on the patio, starting with grilled bread and ending with dessert.

Right now in the backyard, the bee balm is in bloom as are the dwarf snap dragons. The flowers are abuzz with insects, some beneficial to the garden—the bees—and some not so beneficial—the Japanese beetles. Hummingbirds whizz from the trees to the feeders, and grasshoppers pop from the flowers to the patio. In my little vegetable patch, there are cucumbers and tomatoes, which I will have with my lunch today as I sit on the patio and read my New Yorker.

Why can’t August last longer?