32 “Slow Living” Inspired Ways to Savor Summer Have a Primal picnic. Surprise someone you love, or gather a rowdy group for a Primal inspired picnic. Throw in some Ultimate or beach volleyball, and you’ve got a party. Go for a walk in the summer rain. Grab you wellies or – even better – go barefoot. Taste the rain. Puddle stomp. Let your mind daydream in the upside reflections of the sky. Listen to the nighttime wildlife (e.g. the cicada, frogs, crickets, coyotes, etc.) For the remaining weeks of summer and early fall, pick 1-2 veggies a week that are at the peak of their harvest and go to town experimenting with recipes. Bonus: buy a slew of them at the farmer’s market while they’re cheap, and freeze or can them for later in the year. Camp. Sit around the fire at night – fire pit, campfire, bonfire, whatever you have. Host an impromptu dinner party or summer cocktail hour (al fresco of course). Gather some flowers from your garden for the table. Grill some shrimp in the shell and make a salad. String up some lights, set out some tiki torches, and let the party go well into the night. Nap in a hammock. Attend an outdoor concert or play. Sleep as close to nature as you can. Even if you can’t camp on a given weekend, pitch a tent in the backyard, or sleep on the porch for a night. Have some slow style “quality time” with your partner – whenever and wherever the mood strikes (don’t get caught!). Create a piece of art – whatever you feel like doing in the moment. Don’t stifle the experience with imposed standards. Just see where your mind goes and follow it. Visit a new park in your area every weekend. Hit all the stops from wilderness areas to botanical gardens, nature centers to arboretums. Mud fight! Spend a whole day (or at least an afternoon) on the water. Go surfing, rafting, water skiing, river tubing, boating, canoeing, kayaking, or any combination of the above. Have a late summer vacation? Take a day (if not the whole time) without any agenda whatsoever. Wander, poke around, park yourself somewhere and see what happens around you. Get as far away from the tourist hustle and bustle as possible and see where the locals go. Seek out the seemingly mundane, nondescript corners of the place. You might just find yourself swept up in something that will become the best memory of the whole trip. Take a vineyard tour. Have an outdoor family movie night – with old family videos. (Public libraries or other facilities sometimes rent out equipment.) Pass on some family history and personal memories. Share funny and meaningful stories late into the night. Plant something. Sure, it’s a leap of faith at this point in the season. Still, think bumper crop potential. Get in a row of lettuce, herbs, or some hearty root veggies. Meet the dawn one morning – with a hike, a yoga practice, or a early morning fishing expedition. Break out the water balloons. Sit on the beach (ocean or lake shore) with nothing but a cool drink and an indulgent novel. Spend the day among rocks. Skip stones, climb boulders, or go geode hunting. Fly a kite. Splurge on a few huge flower bouquets at the farmer’s market and decorate the house (and your office). Hang your laundry out to dry. Remember (or discover) what laundry used to smell like before dryers and dryer sheets. Build a fort (indoor or outdoor) with the kids – or for yourself. Reclaim the art of the backyard game. I’m talking the likes of croquet, frisbee golf, flag football, volleyball, horseshoes, Kubb (Viking chess), badminton, lawn darts, or outdoor bowling. Grill an entire four course meal, something totally new and challenging (pig roast, anyone?), or do a traditional New England clam bake. Spend an evening stargazing. Read more: marksdailyapple/32-slow-living-inspired-ways-to-savor-summer/#ixzz2cLzA3B5d
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 20:14:59 +0000