The Perfect Glass of Iced Sun Tea

A recipe in honor of the last day of summer vacation.

1) Sleep late, taking extra time to snuggle with your sweetie.

2) Once you get up, do it slowly. Listen to the birds singing outside, pet the cats (don’t forget to feed them too). When you get dressed, make sure comfort is more important than style. But wear cute shoes.

3) Start the sun tea: fill a one-gallon glass jar with filtered water. Add 8 bags of Nestea, regular or decaf, and 4 bags of Constant Comment, also regular or decaf.

4) Place the tea jar in the sunniest place in the garden, next to the basil and garlic chives. Talk to the chickadees while you take down the feeders to refill them, and enjoy when they talk back when you return with full feeders. Be sure to put out some peanuts and sunflowers for the chipmunks and squirrels, and pass through the garden looking at the new blooms, encouraging the recent transplants, and enjoying the very last daylilies of the summer.

5) Pull a few weeds with your sweetie. Water any dry garden beds and all transplants. Putz around the yard before having a light lunch.

6) Load up the kayaks in the back of the truck and go to a favorite lake or gentle river. Enjoy time in the sunshine, counting eagles and kingfishers and turtles. Stop and rest if you get tired. Eat a snack if you get hungry. Talk about anything that pops into your minds, or just enjoy the silence.

7) Head back home. Take in the tea. Remove the tea bags and refrigerate.

8) Do one productive thing from the to-do list that’s still too long.

9) Get a book and sit on the porch or the patio, reading out loud to each other. Or talk about what a great summer it’s been. Call each other Mrs. Laugh. Smile a lot.

10) Pour a glass of tea over ice. Add a slice of lemon or a little sugar if desired. Watch goldfinches eating sunflowers that the sparrows planted in the spring. Watch chipmunks run through the yard with perfectly peanut-shaped cheeks. Talk about school plans, weeding the library, and projects that need to be completed before fall. Feel completely happy and right with the world.

Photo credits: this is a picture of Crimson Shadows, the last great bloomer of the season. I purchased the plant from Oakes Daylilies a few years ago. Highly recommended.