I made one of those scrapbooky type images of what my summer looked like. I’ve been back in Vermont for a solid week and it’s been great to be back. It was also great to be away. When I was a kid we’d always take a vacation of some sort of in the summer but it was often to visit family or friends (and later with my dad, to sit on a random beach someplace) and wasn’t for very long. After last year’s enforced broken-ankle-summer-vacation I decided I liked the idea of being in a geographically distinct place for the summer, so I did it again this year. Had some friends over. Visited diners. Had more friends over. Visited libraries. Cooked out on the grill. Went on woodsy hikes. Peered at birds, bunnies, frogs and the occasional turkey and cat. Got some exercise. Vistied Nebraska (by plane) and St. Paul MN (by car). Pruned some wisteria. Cleaned bathrooms and did some of the never-ending work of keeping a big house in decent shape. It was fun. I think I’ll do it again next year. It sounds like a lot of stuff but it’s as close to leisure as I can probably get. Here’s a recap of past Virgo Months of Leisure, the time of year when I try, and often fail, to relax.

• 2012: Enforced relaxation with broken ankle
• 2011: Mostly relaxing
• 2010: Finished writing a book
• 2009: Several trips including one out of the country
• 2008: Turned 40, got a fancy picture-taking bicycle, moved
• 2007: Became a lifeguard
• 2006: Incoming terrible roommate & trip to Maine and later North Dakota, Mom in hospital
• 2005: trip to New York, trip to Indiana
• 2004: Slow month, possibly the first since this all started.
• 2003: I move to Vermont full-time, I start a new job.
• 2002: Working on a book.
• 2001: I start a postcard project, we know what happened after that.
• 2000: Burning Man followed by the hospital
• 1999: driving cross-country & my barn roof blows off
• 1998: in Guatemala
• 1997: Bought a house

Larger version of this photo.
Top Row: Nebraska, kayaking, Westport stone wall
Next row: Birthday weekend. CHILDNADO weekend
Next row: Me in Cooperstown, the dearly departed Boo Radley on Kate’s new couch, Kate in the aerie, Jim at the end of the boardwalk
Next row: birdfeeder at sunset, UMass Dartmouth’s Carney Library
Next row: flowers, Fourth of July parade