So Long, Sweet Okinawa Summer

When we woke up Sunday morning, and I walked out into our main room where the whole wall is tall window sliding doors, I gasped. The sun was shining perfectly on the calm, flat Sea bringing out the vibrant turquoise and blues, so clear you could see down to the corral and all the way out to the Kerama islands, their silhouette backlit by the bright puffy white clouds. September mornings are our favorite on Oki.  We can tell the summer is ending because as we sit right now on the deck in Cams rocking chairs, we're not profusely sweating like usual. (: The heat intensity from the summer months is subsiding and the mornings and evenings are so warm and breezy that it almost feels temperature-less. The only sounds this early are the birds singing, the cicadas in the surrounding brush, and the gentle lapping waves of the incoming tide.   Beautiful !!
{Please excuse my iphone photos!}

"God's mercies are new every morning." Yes, they are!

Oh, these evenings.

 The other ways you can tell summer is coming to an end here are when the sugar cane fields have grown taller than Cam and are ready to be harvested again... and when we hear drums, the sanshin, singing & dancing in the streets each night {really!}:

Obon is a festival every year on Oki at the end of August, when Okinawan families get together for a huge feast + tons of drinking and worship their ancestors either at tomb sites or at an alter in their house. After, everyone goes out into the streets where there's processionals and traditional Eisa dancing. The past two nights our neighborhood has been packed with dancing and Orion beer kegs... and stumbling elderly neighbors!

One more lovely part of Oki summers are the honor system fruit stands on the side of the road or in neighbors' driveways. Stealing in Japan is not common the way it is in the States, so buying fruit & veggies this way always makes me smile.

I made a salad with pears and apples I bought from a stand and it was absolutely delicious. But before I post that, I wanted to share with you one of the yummiest sandwiches we've ever had that's just right for the end of summer.  I made it this weekend from Pinterest inspiration, using homemade Focaccia, but you could substitute Ciabatta or whatever bread you like best. It was stuffed with heirloom tomatoes, freshly made Pesto, Mozzarella slices and crispy bacon.

Hope you all had a beautiful Labor Day weekend! 

Focaccia BLT {serves 2}:
4 Pieces of your favorite bread
4 oz of Fresh Pesto
2 Heirloom Tomatoes
Mozzarella
4 pieces of crispy Bacon

Spread Pesto over both pieces of bread. Layer with sliced tomatoes, mozz & pieces of bacon.
Serve with a dry white Chardonnay or a tall beer.