There are many different measures that can be used to determine whether or not the past weekend enjoyed along the path around the Falls came close to being the highlight of the summer. Throughout the weekend touring around Kelly Lake, one could count a higher-than-average number of vehicles parked on lawns. It was obvious people came from some distance to gather and enjoy the relief the cool lake water provided.
One might have marveled at the frequency that the night time sky was used as a backdrop for the many displays of fireworks. The bigger the show, the better the long weekend would have been rated. As often is the case, even though many communities had their “official” fireworks display, there were many unofficial ones. All those fireworks shops must have lots of customers or they would not be operating.
One could count the number of times the temperature hit 85 degrees. Vehicles parked in the sun made that mark a number of times this past weekend. The darker the vehicle, the more times that mark was surpassed.
While on a late Sunday evening drive around the lake, another impressive measure became quite evident. Apparently, a number of residents must have Monday morning garbage pickup. Either that or perhaps the summer residents were leaving to return to their regular residence for the work week and needed to get that taken care of.
In any event, counting garbage bags stacked next to the road became another indicator of the weekend’s activities. While not scientific, a quick running count showed a couple of the cottages with eight garbage bags apiece. Clearly, it takes a good crowd to generate that volume of waste.
For those town of Spruce residents who don’t contract for garbage pickup, the other option is the Spruce Recycling Center. It was open on Saturday. This observer made one of those infrequent trips to the center with recyclables that morning. It was a hot day. The two attendants were relaxing in the shade but quickly jumped up once the F-150 was backed up to one of the Dumpsters. Two containers were emptied in that Dumpster, and three others were taken to their respective Dumpsters.
These guys were not about to let any dust settle on their shoes, and it soon became obvious why. They knew something I didn’t. In the few minutes it took to unload that truck, two more vehicles came through the gate. They were doing a land office business that day. Perhaps this was another indicator of a good weekend.
The combination of bright sunshine and warm weather helped popularize a number of cool beverages. Some of these cool beverages are popular any time of the year, but others are unique to that combination. Such is the case for sun tea. Spending time outdoors on Saturday morning, the rising temperatures called for something different in the refreshment line. The old, gallon-sized sun tea jug was pulled off the pantry shelf, filled with water and topped off with a few teabags before putting the lid back on and set out on the deck to bask in the sun.
It is always fascinating to see how that liquid gradually turns darker in the sun. A few hours later, the desired color had been reached. The warm jar was put back in the refrigerator to cool. Sometimes the anticipation can be too much. The beverage had to be sampled. A glass was filled with ice, topped off with tea and given the taste test. It went down well and was quite refreshing.
Not a whole lot later, another glass was poured and went down well. Later still, one more was poured. The gallon took a surprisingly long time to cool down. It was the first sun tea of the season and was quite refreshing. If the truth were told, it might have been a couple of years since sun tea had been brewed on that deck.
By the end of the weekend, more than half that gallon jug was gone, and the remainder was chilled standing at the ready to provide relief from the heat. With the return to the work week, the sun was nowhere to be seen and indoor activities filled the agenda. The sun tea will wait another day. It was yet one more measure of a good weekend.
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