Stop Fall Fast Forwarding: Enjoy August

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By Julie/Julia enjoying the last gasps of August

I love August. I love the heat, the fruits and vegetables that are in season, the languid pace as we have vacations and long weekends. I love wearing sandals with a nice pedicure, white linen pants and the sun kisses on my shoulders and face. I love not having to wear a jacket, and being able to sit outside to eat. I love long walks on the beach.

And yet there are those who persist on wishing for fall. They cheer the pumpkin spice everything and celebrate Halloween decorations taking over shelves.

To those folks, many of whom I know and love, I say this:

Stop.

Just stop.

Enjoy August.

Here in New England, fall is lovely. Really lovely. Postcard lovely. But fall leads to winter which is long, cold and icy. You can’t sit outside to eat, and long walks require layers of clothes and boots with good treads.

I love August. And this August I have something else to celebrate. Tilling the Truth was released on Tuesday. This is the second in my Garden Squad series. The first in the series, Pruning the Dead (which is on sale for ebooks this month) was released in January.

Tilling the Truth is not only released in August, it takes place in August! So when you’re reading about Lilly riding her Vespa and sweating you don’t have to use too much imagination.

As a gardener, Lilly loves August as well. She’s has the same issues with fall that I do, as you will find out in the next book.

Until then, in celebration of Tilling the Truth, I’m going to give away a copy of the book to a commenter! Tell me, dear readers, what do you like best about August?

Published by Julie Hennrikus aka Julia Henry

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry she writes the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus she writes the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes she wrote the Clock Shop series. Click on my profile picture to connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

53 Thoughts

  1. I’m with you, Julie. Fall would be great if only it lasted more than five minutes before it snowed! I love the produce I’m getting from my farm share this August. I love taking morning walks (although THIS morning, I may need to wear a sweatshirt–at least until I warm up.

    And I love the county fairs.

    But I think my favorite part of August is ripe, juicy peaches that drip down your arms as you eat them! YUM.

    Plus I really don’t like pumpkin spice anything.

    Congrats on the new book, Julie!!!

    1. Thank you Annette! I hear you, it got cool here as well, but the 80’s are back today. Odd thing about me and peaches. I love them, but I can’t touch the fuzz. Not sure what happened, but my nieces and nephews laugh very hard at my need to peel my peaches.

  2. The thing I like best about August is it means fall will be here soon. But since your post is about enjoying August, that’s probably not the best answer! I do enjoy the long hours of daylight, and August certainly makes me appreciate air conditioning.

  3. I also love August, even when it turns prematurely cool, as it did earlier this week. I’m eating tomatoes, making peach pie, and hitting the beach every chance I get. G&Ts on the deck, reading outside in the shade, and turquoise toenails!

  4. Oh August, time for vacations with our Grands and children; fishing on the river; falling asleep listening to the river as the water flows over the rocks lulling us to sleep; walks to the parks and happy giggles; eating wood fired pizza at a restaurant that gives the children raw dough to make their own “art” that is then cooked and delivered back to them; mountain hikes and chipmunk sightings; laughter and love and time to be a family…what a blessed time!

    1. A perfect description! When I was a little girl August was vacation with my grandparents, which may be another reason I have such fondness for the month.

  5. Our town usually has several outdoor concerts in August and there’s also our county 4H fair.

  6. August always meant the time spent at our cottage in the Poconos, since that’s when my Dad always took his vacation. Days spent swimming or wandering around the woods, playing with the neighbor kids and most of all the county fair! And shopping for school clothes – I was always ready to go back to school!

    1. What a beautiful part of the world the Poconos are! I don’t know that I was always ready to go back to school, but I was always glad to be there.

  7. I love August here in the Boston area on days when it’s not humid–which are few and far between, unfortunately, and leave me longing for central a/c and to go back to Southern California, where the temperature is higher but you don’t feel like you’re in a steam room. I do love the peaches, though! And I also love July and August because that is when there is racing at Saratoga, which is a beautiful place to be and a lot of fun. Right now, my favorite thing about August is that Tilling the Truth is out and I can’t wait to read it.

    1. Thank you for your kind words about TILLING, Lisa. I hope you enjoy it! And you have a point about the humidity. It can be something. Though spending a few summers in Annapolis, MD showed me what true humidity felt like. Woof.

  8. Congrats on the new release, Julie! One of the things I enjoy about August here in Indiana is the relief we begin to feel from the unrelenting heat and humidity of July. The weather is still wonderful, but the temperatures are cooler and the humidity lower. It’s much more conducive to enjoying the outdoors without breaking a sweat the second you step outside. lol

    1. August can be a respite on many fronts. One thing about the summer–sweating, or glowing as my grandmother called it, is part of the deal.

  9. I agree, Julie. I love summer in New England, and especially this year after a cold, rainy spring. I always get a little sad/nostalgic around Labor Day–another summer gone by, the kids, now grandkids, a year older. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s enjoy this last gasp.

  10. Love August because it’s still not fall or winter but the summer is slowing down. There’s not the fast paced rush to get all one can crammed into summer. We live in a tourist town so August means the start to the end of the summer meaning tourist traffic slacks off due in great part because kids are starting back to school. I love how the late tomatoes seem to have the most acid and taste the best. The watermelon crops are the sweetest this time of year due to the heat with festivals to honor them. I love being able to sit on our front porch with ceiling fan on enjoying the critters that come to visit this time of year like the deer who seek out our mineral block to develop their sprouting and growing antlers. Love seeing the spots start to fade of the fawns as their mommas watch over them protectively. The baby birds are feeding on their own, but still entertain us when they still try to get a parent to feed them. Love August because it’s hubby’s Mom’s birthday month. Wonderful to have her in our lives and to celebrate another blessed year with her. She turned 90 this year.

    Learned through the years as I’ve gotten older, not to rush time but to enjoy each season – each day like it’s your last. It just may be or your health or conditions may change to where you can’t do what you can now or have mobility. I treasure August because it’s August! We survived the intense humid heat of July and we haven’t made it the county and state fair season. We are in August – the wonderful month created for in between, a month to enjoy and make memories in.

    Thanks for the chance to win a copy of “Tilling the Truth”! On my TBR list and can’t wait for the opportunity to read it.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

  11. This morning is fall-crisp, which is nice, but it will warm up come afternoon. With kids still at home, I like August because…back to school! And it is usually not as hot as July, but still warm.

    Personally, I’m a fall girl. At least early-mid fall. I love bright leaves, the dusty scent of the air, and sweaters. But I went into the grocery store the other day and not only saw Halloween candy, but the beginning of pumpkin spice everything. I’m not averse to pumpkin spice but…too soon! Too soon!

  12. Congrats on the new book. The month of August is special for many reasons to me. First off it holds many birthdays. My husband’s is the 9th, my mother’s was the 12th, and mine is the 31st. Then on the 24th my husband and I celebrate our anniversary, number 34 this year. It’s also a sign for me that summer may be coming to an end soon sad to say. Thanks for the insight into Julia Henry’s latest book.

  13. I do love August too. It is my birthday month, and also the birthday month of two f my best girlfriends. Since it is so nice we camp out, eat drink and be merry as much as possible. Outdoor bbqs with friends top my list. I love sitting on the deck with my feet is a fragrant soaking tub, a glass of wine next to me and a book in hand.

    1. Sitting out on a deck is one of my favorite things to do. Will need to add fragrant soaking tub to the mix. The book and the wine are already there. Here’s to more BBQs!

  14. I’m so thrilled that your second Garden Squad mystery is finally out! If I didn’t have to walk Lily on days with heat indexes of 103 I might like August better. I do like listening to the locusts as we called them in Iowa or cicadas as they call them here in Northern Virginia. End of summer bugs. I just looked this up: Locusts and cicadas, particularly periodical cicadas, are often confused. However, the two are quite different. Locusts are a type of grasshopper, while cicadas are actually cousins of crickets.

    1. Locusts always have a gloomy feeling for me. Plagues of locusts, that sort of thing. And yes, having to walk the dog in the heat can’t be much fun for either one of you. Thanks for your support on the Tilling release my friend!

  15. I love August too! Here in Wisconsin, it usually means a break from the humidity and we can finally sleep with the windows open! I also love the way the sun shimmers in the afternoon. I call it the golden sunshine because everything is so much more vivid when the sun sets earlier.

    1. Golden sunshine–yes. And the milky skies from the heat. Such a beautiful time of year. And here’s to sleeping with the windows open!

  16. Guilty as charged about looking forward to fall a little too much! It’s unbearable here in central Texas this time of year! But I do love the after-dinner walks with our dog. And this morning, I noticed whistling ducks in formation, headed in droves wherever it is they go this time of year. The swallows are rounding up, getting ready to leave until spring. I was reminded that there is beauty within the transitional times–not just in the befores and afters. So I’ll crack open another popsicle and just let it be August! Thanks for reminding me!

  17. I love August because both my husband and I have the same August birthday and our anniversary is in August as well. August in the South tends to be very hot and humid though, so I look forward to Fall and the cooler temperatures. But I love August in the Midwest and East Coast. Such a beutiful time of year

    1. I did live in Maryland for a few years, which isn’t that far south, and summer was tough. But you do have lots of reasons to celebrate August!

  18. I’m with you. I love summer and want to hold on to August as long as possible. And this is coming from someone who reviewed two Halloween themed books this week. Of course, I reviewed them because it was release week.

    I get why stores are selling pumpkin stuff already and why Christmas stuff will appear everywhere by October. There are limited windows of time to sell seasonal stuff. They need to take full advantage. And they get business from people who do like to plan and be prepared.

    So, if something is in stores before I’m ready, I ignore it until I am. If you need me, I’ll be buying some Hallmark ornaments and ignoring the pumpkin spice for another couple of weeks.

  19. My husband’s birthday is in August, so we celebrate each year by going to a street fair near our neighborhood that is always on or near his birthday. It’s a fun tradition!

    1. That sounds like a ton of fun! I love street fairs. We have one near me in September that celebrates Fluff, as in marshmellow fluff. It’s a blast.

  20. My book club loved Pruning the Dead (at my suggestion!) and I’m so looking forward to reading Tilling the Truth.

    I have always loved August no matter where I lived. As a kid I loved it because it is my birthday month and the only month that didn’t have a celebrated holiday. I didn’t have to share! That’s not important anymore, but I love the heat and don’t really have a problem with the humidity, either. I love all the things the other commenters have mentioned, especially the peaches. Fall is beautiful but never lasts long enough and the winter never seems to end. And it is better here in Lancaster, PA, than anywhere else I have lived. But give me a year of Augusts! I appreciate every day I’m alive, but appreciate them more in August!

    1. I’m so glad that your book club liked PRUNING! I’m with you on the month of Augusts. BTW, I’m going to be at the PA Tea Festival on September 28, which is in Mechanicsburg. In case you’re in the area. 😉

  21. Call me wishy-washy, but August has always been a matter of perspective. As a military family, we moved often. August was lovely when we lived in cooler places like Rhode Island or Monterey, California. But so much of our time has been in the South where August means bugs big enough to throw a saddle on or the fear of sticking to the trees if I get too close. We’re still living below the Mason-Dixon line, so I’ll enjoy the sunshine and brilliance of August while it’s here, but still look forward to the changes of fall.

    And I agree. This whole pumpkin spice craze has gotten way out of control.

    1. Those bugs you can throw a saddle on is funny, but also true. I hear you. I live in Massachusetts, so I have that perspective.

  22. Being able to swim and have cookouts/eat outside! Congratulations on the new book!

  24. Thank you for the contest. August is a sad month for me as it means sailing season is almost over.

    1. My Dad was a sailor, and therefore so was/am I. When we moved to Annapolis he loved that it extended the sailing season. I remember more than one sail on Christmas Eve. Such a great experience.

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