Welcome rainclouds break
Sun-parched soil with moisture quenched
Summer shower sweet
Padre
Summer Storm
summer
River Festival ’22
Assembled by the river
Summer to celebrate
Dragon boats and food stalls
A tremendous whole-town fete
Market vendors plying their trade
And sunshine human bait
To draw the crowds to the banks
Revenue to generate
Padre
Bedford River Festival
Longest Day No More
The 21st, the longest day
Lingering evening in which to play
It was hard to go to sleep
When rays of sunshine through the curtains creep
But that was all long ago
When I was young and on the go
Now the clock reading half past eight
The time for bed does indicate
So goodbye “longest day”
I plan on sleeping the evening away
Padre
Summer’s End
It is the last day of academic summer, and preparations for school have begun. The care-free days of the long holiday have now, in a single span of 24 hours seen a sea change. Gone is the casual lounging in the garden, and the months of preparation, delivery, and marking are at hand.
School clothes washed – ironed
Schedules checked, papers arranged
Lesson plans reviewed
Final walk in the garden
Academic year begins
Padre
Colleen has challenged us to try our hand at the tanka prose form. She notes, that “We typically write tanka prose in the 5-7-5-7-7 or a s/l/s/l/l five-line syllabic structure. Tanka prose should contain a title. There is one basic requirement in writing tanka prose: one paragraph, and one tanka.”
32 C
Ek het ys nodig
Send ice quickly please
This sunny stuff is strange to me
I think at the moment
I’d rather freeze
Sun is shining, the sky is clear
My garden’s scorching
To death I fear
And I’m hid away beneath my fan
And hope for the arrival
Of the ice cream van
Padre
Listen Carefully
Pixabay
I listen carefully to the chimes’ approach
Such a simple tune should be beyond reproach
Creamy goodies are on their way
The kid’s all hear it from blocks away
They rush and scramble to get their place
Wanting treats to fill their face
But there is not so much as a mask in sight
And social distancing, “is so last night”
But summer’s here, hot cocoa days are past
So this daily jostle I guess, for months will last
And hopefully a new spike will not result
And make this daily scramble halt
Padre
Paint Chip Poetry Prompt #24: I’m only suggesting you use two of the seven words or phrases. Choose carefully. Here’s what you have to work with: kindling, hot cocoa, monsoon, purple mountain majesties, fig leaf, rubber ducky, and cheese puff.
Strawberry Apple Cooler
It has been a while since I posted a mocktail or cooler recipe, so its time to remedy that. We had friends around recently, and I was looking for a nice drink to share while chatting in the garden. This drink came to mind as a variant of a mocktail we had seen in Great Yarmouth on a recent visit.
Ingredients:
- Strawberries 10 – 15 large
- Truvia/Stevia 2 tsp or sugar 1 1/2 Tbs
- Apple Juice 250 ml
- Fizzy Lemonade/Diet Lemonade/Sprite 1.25 litres
- Ice 2 cups
Method:
Remove the stems and leaved from berries and cut into quarters. Place in a glass bowl and add the sweetener. Mash thoroughly with a fork and add to a 2 litre pitcher or jug. Add the apple juice and chill for an hour. Add the ice to the container and top off with chilled lemonade.
Padre
As August Fades
The very first leaves had begun to turn red. It wasn’t like the entire tree had turned either. Just an impatient few crimson raced to welcome September before August had run its course. It was a sign, however, understood by a few of the more observant children, but known all too well by teachers. School days were about to return, and at this very edge of summer, every moment relaxation and calm was to be treasured.
The weather was still warm, and the sky mostly clear with only a few clouds to cast shade. The beach beckoned. The water was still pleasant, and the sands inviting. So off the couple went to the coast in search of some quality time before lesson plans and homework marking intervened.
Parking wasn’t easy to find, and it took a few passes along the Marine Parade to find an appropriate spot. The metre paid, and the towels gathered they made their way to the promenade. Sand-covered children darted to and fro amongst the wind-breaks and parasols. For the moment, a seat upon a sea facing bench seemed the thing to do.
He went to the kiosk and bought a couple of Whippy cones with Flakes, and returned to the bench. Sun upon their faces, they enjoyed the creamy delight, as they watched the swooping of the gulls. As she cuddled in next to him all was bliss, say for the inescapable dread of this tranquility being broken by the awful greeting, “Hello Sir.” Fortunately, the salutation was avoided on this occasion, and ice creams finished, the couple made their way to the sand.
Just chilling, and living in each other’s presence, the day passed lazily and with a cool sea breeze rising, they left their beach haven and made their way to a fish and chips shop. A battered cod for him, and scampi for her, they picked at a few chips shared as well.
As the sun dipped landward to the West, they remarked on the wonderful day, and the possibility of an Indian summer in which they might make just one more visit before autumn truly arrived.
Padre
Tuesday Writing Prompt Challenge August 20, 2019: Use the phrase “edge of summer” in a poem or short piece of prose.
Sun Tea (Mini Tip)
It is unusual that the summer weather has kept on so long here in the UK. And while most Brits seem to prefer traditionally brewed hot tea, there is a place in weather such as this to make iced tea. One of the methods for brewing large quantities of this is to make “sun tea.” This uses the bright sunny days to make a cooling drink to deal with the heat.
It requires a large glass jar (2 litres works really well) and just a few tea bags.
Ingredients:
- Water 2 litres
- Tea Bags (of your choice) 4
Method:
Fill the jar to near the brim with tap water, and place the tea bags into the water with the strings outside the jar. Close the lid to hold the strings in place, and place is a sunny position (garden table, etc) for about 4 hours.
When the tea is of a good colour, remove the bags and sweeten to taste. Serve with a slice of citrus over ice.
Padre
Blackberry Blitz
Some very dear friends brought us a large container of blackberries today, and it was a perfect gift as I had been wanting to make this recipe for some time. It blends the fruit, simple syrup, and fizzy water/drink to make a nice summer treat. It is a little labour intensive but well worth the effort.
Ingredients:
- Fresh Blackberries 2 cups
- Simple syrup 100 ml or Stevia 1 Tbs
- Fruit-flavoured Sparkling Water or Fizzy Lemonade 300 to 400 ml
- Ice 1 to 2 cups
Method:
Place ice in a blender and crush thoroughly. Divide out into glasses. Place the berries, and 100 to 150 ml of fizzy drink into blender and blitz well. Add additional soda to the blender as needed to make a thick fruit liquid. Place a wire strainer over a pitcher or jug and strain out the seeds from the berries. When this process is finished stir in the syrup to the jug (if using Stevia stir in, but use more soda in next step) and pour over the ice. Top up the glasses with additional fizzy drink.
Padre
Padre's Ramblings 