Quote of the day: “My father laughed. ‘The magic of Summer,’ he said, ‘is unlike anything else. Imagine life, fertility, laughter, joy, ripening fruits and the smell of fresh bread baking in the morning. That is Summer magic.’ “— Kailin Gow, Bitter Frost
It’s been a perfect open window weather week, with highs in the low 80’s, low humidity. I find myself soaking in the beauty and perfect warmth of each day.
This morning I spent an hour in the back yard watering my raspberry, blueberry, honeyberry, and aronia plants, and pulling weeds out of the landscaping rocks. It looked like we were starting a small forest of basswood trees before I weeded. Now it’s boring old rocks again. What a sense of accomplishment can be found in the simple act of pulling weeds. I found myself noticing the little flowers on some of the weeds that were not baby basswood trees and marveling at their tiny perfection. Weeds are simply plants growing where you do not want them to grow. I try to keep patches of wildness in our yard along with the well-groomed landscaping.
Spending time in my small garden with visitations from hummingbirds and dragonflies, a small frog sitting beside me as I weeded, a bright red cardinal perched on a low branch chirping and singing to me, felt like magic—summer magic—a gift to be savored.
The red raspberry bushes that Jon planted for me late last summer have grown tall and are loaded with raspberries. My mouth waters just thinking about picking and eating these lovely berries when they ripen later this fall. This will be the first real harvest from my new perma-culture experiment in the back yard. I managed to find one blueberry on one of my blueberry bushes earlier this summer. It tasted marvelous! But the honeyberries, aronias, and black raspberries did not produce fruit this year. The black raspberries have grown tall and lush and I expect a nice crop next summer though. My tiny cherry tree is still tiny even though it has doubled in size since we planted it. I’m not sure how long it will take for it to grow to a size when it might bloom and produce fruit, but it’s fun watching it none-the-less. One of my blueberry bushes died and I replaced it this spring. The other original blueberry plant looks less than happy. I think I will move it to a different spot and buy another blueberry plant from the local nursery to replace it.
I love having a reason to spend time outside in the back yard. The beauty always inspires me and the peace fills me up.
Living in Minnesota, I am acutely aware of how fleeting our summers are, so I intentionally soak in each magic moment. Don’t let the magic of summer pass you by. Notice the greens. Soak up the sounds and scents. Bask in the warmth and the feel of a fresh breeze on your bare skin. Savor summer.
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