August always feels like a gentle shift — not quite summer, not quite fall, but somewhere in between. The days are still long and hot, the fields still green and growing, but there’s a certain rhythm that changes this month.

On the farm, August is a month of watching and waiting. The corn is tall, the beans are filling out, and we start thinking about the harvest that’s right around the corner. It’s the calm before the storm, when preparation quietly builds in the background of everyday chores.

Off the farm, August carries its own kind of milestone: back-to-school. The sight of school buses rolling down country roads again, back-to-school marks the sure sign that summer is nearing its close. For parents, it’s often bittersweet — watching kids take another step forward, while remembering just how quickly time moves.

And maybe that’s what August is really about: the reminder to slow down and soak in the small moments. The laughter around the supper table. The golden sunsets stretching across the fields. The way the cicadas hum louder than the tractors at dusk. These are the fleeting details that stitch the seasons together — the things we’ll look back on when the pace of life quickens again.

So this month, before the rush of harvest begins and the calendars fill up, I’m choosing to pause. To notice the small things. To tuck away a few extra memories of late summer days before they slip quietly into fall.

Because in farming, in family, and in life, it’s those small, ordinary moments that often turn out to be the most extraordinary. I encourage you to pause and soak in the quiet moments of the day, reflecting on the little things that bring a smile to your face.