It’s my favorite time of year and I aim to make the most of it.  Summers always go by fast.  It’s as if you are trying fit 10 lbs of summer into a 5 lb sack. There is always so much to do and never enough time to soak it all up.

So, with that in mind, I created a summer bucket list so that there are at least a few key things I can be sure to fit into my 5 lb summer sack.  I thought I would share them with you since you may find the ideas useful.

1. Pick strawberries from a U-Pick farm. Actually, I would be happy to pick any kind of berry from one of the local farms.  Fortunately, here in upstate New York, there are plenty of U-pick farms to choose from.

2. Make jam, probably strawberry jam. Well, let’s be honest, any kind of berry jam is right up my alley. Strawberry jam seems to be the easiest.  Once you have had homemade strawberry jam, it’s difficult to return to the store bought variety.

3. Start a garden. This is more challenging than it sounds.  There is lots and lots of loose sandy dirt in our yard.  Not much in the way of actual soil that will support plant life.  My goal this summer is to at least outline a garden bed and start to amend the sandy-dirt thereby turning it into actual soil.

4. Go antiquing.  You probably saw that one coming.  Now that the pandemic is coming to an end – it’s so inspiring to see all these fairs and markets that are opening back up.  Mr. SLH and I are hoping to find time to visit Brimfield and possibly Madison-Bouckeville. I’m hoping to find more vintage and antique American flags.

5. Make S’mores.  As in -make them outside in a fire pit. You can’t go wrong with S’mores on a summer evening.

6. Watch fireflies. These wonders of nature are one of the best benefits of living on the east coast.

7. Spend as much time outside as humanly possible.  This looks something like this: drink morning coffee outside on the back stairs, walk the dogs, eat lunch on the back stairs, walk the dogs, light of up the grill for dinner and eat in the Adirondack chairs outside, go for a bicycle ride in the evening, and then walk the dogs.  Then repeat this every day of the week.

8. Visit a farmstead and buy locally grown tomatoes and corn. Farm fresh produce always tastes the best.  You can’t beat a tomato sandwich with some mayo and salt.  Also, nothing tastes better than grilled corn.  Plus, I always love supporting our local agricultural community.

9. Watch fireworks on the 4th of July.

10. Visit one of the seasonal ice cream stands and eat ice cream with Mr. SLH.

That’s my summer top ten bucket list!  What about you?  What’s on your summer bucket list?