Summer is an invitation to pure delight. It's sleeping a little later, reading a little longer, calling an old friend for a spur-of-the moment lunch. It's frogs croaking and crickets chirping. It's fresh fruit and vegetables, and the kinds of salads you see on these pages (along with a few other shots of life around my house). It's a season for long hikes, letting your hair do its own wild thing, and basking in the beautiful August light from a rocking chair on the front porch. It's sitting down with a glass of rosé at the end of the day and not really knowing where the time went. It's a wake-up call to all your senses—particularly your sense of pleasure.

The Glamorous Life

The dogs all have their own individual bed, but if I make the slightest move—a yawn, a blink, anything—they consider it their duty to say "good morning" by jumping on my bed and letting me know that they're ready for a walk...which means my day begins with poop patrol.