Finally Summer

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Huckleberry ice cream

The sun was watching the calendar up here in the Northwest. On Monday, as if on cue, the weather and my attitude changed with the flip of the switch that sent us into Summer.

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High lake, still snowy

We were up in the Cascades on the Metolius River when it happened. The bright, blue sky and puffy white clouds came in after after a weekend of overcast skies and mountain rain. I new it was Summer when I caught that unmistakable scent of warm ponderosa pines as the afternoon air moved through the forest .

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Growth

That night, as we sat by the fire, we noted it was after ten and there was still a hint of blue in the western sky. And then just after four, a thrush woke me with an early morning call as the sky began to brighten in the East. Summer is here.

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The Metolius River

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Elk
all images © Tim LaBarge 2010