Bests

My husband and I are in total agreement. Summer is our favorite season, and we both wish the lovely warm days could linger much longer. We have many friends and family members who are connoisseurs of fall. While appreciating autumn’s beauty, we are uncomfortably aware of its underlying message, “this is a finale, winter is waiting in the wings.”

At the end of each calendar year, the media roll out the “best of” lists. We think summer deserves a list all of its own. Here are our top picks. We hope your summer was filled with many bests as well.

◉ The Best Lake Michigan Beach Glass

A perfectly polished, cobalt blue beauty, found by our niece

◉ The Best Insects

Mosquitos, because there were almost none of them. A late, cold start to summer apparently slowed down their sex life.

◉ The Best Flowers

A tie between a sensational hibiscus spotted in a downtown Cedarburg flowerbox and my neighbor’s “painted” blossom

◉ The Best View

The Wisconsin River joining the Mississippi River viewed from Pikes Peak State Park in Iowa

◉ The Best Serendipitous Discovery

A floral book in a Holland, Michigan city park

◉ The Best Summer Reads

Fiction: The Sweet Remnants of Summer by Alexander McCall Smith

Nonfiction: The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

◉ The Best Music

The beautiful vocals provided by our purple martins from sunrise to sunset

◉ The Best Summer Meals

Every meal we could eat outside on the deck…especially the ones shared with friends

◉ The Best Summer Snack

Beer and beignets at our local brew pub

⦿ The Best Adventure

Driving four laps on the Road America track. (The Porsche Club of Chicago lets mere mortals do this for a $10 donation to charity. 50 mph is the top speed.)

Forward to autumn!

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