August days and nights

This week I am posting two completely unrelated photos.  The first is of the big dipper over our house.  I spent two nights out on the deck watching the Perseid meteor shower this August trying to catch a photo of a meteor blazing across the sky.  I saw dozens of meteors, but the picture just didn't happen.  But I did enjoy some contemplation in the pitch-black moonless nights listening to coyotes yelping on the hill!

My other August endeavor was trying to preserve a fraction of the fruit on my neighbor's plum tree, which had quite a bumper crop this year.  We made spiced plum jam, orange plum jam, rum plum jam, and dried plums.  I don't think we even succeeded in taking any weight off the branches!