Celebrating the Midpoint

 

Today I am celebrating Summer's Midpoint, halfway between the Solstice and Equinox.  This is also known as Lammas.  I call it Bread Day.

Yesterday I went out in my yard and "harvested" the volunteer wheat growing in my garden along the pathway.  I "threshed" it (that took some time, effort, and patience), washed it, and dried it.  I had about a quarter cup.  Today I ground it into flour and made a flatbread to eat with my salad.  I enjoyed it very much.

While eating it, I thought of my maternal grandfather, Earl Thomas, raising wheat in north central Kansas.  This was my connection to him and all my ancestors, and to my Kansas childhood.

We are also enjoying summer squash in abundance, and lettuce, onions, and peaches.  Tomatoes and peppers are beginning to ripen.  Flowers are blooming everywhere, especially the sunflowers!

At this midpoint, I notice the changing sunlight, the shorter days, and earlier sunsets.  Though the weather here in the Great Basin is still hot, I know cooler temperatures are coming.

Joy can be found in every season... it might just be easier in summer.

Please get vaccinated.  Wear a mask when appropriate.  Every life is precious.

Making a Difference... Maybe.

Today I planted about 20 milkweed seedlings in my garden.  I hope they will feed monarch butterflies.  I believe they will not flower until next year.  I don't see many monarchs in Utah.  It is such a tiny thing I have done.  I don't know if they will make much of a difference.  

But, today I planted milkweed in my garden.

Sunset After a Rainy Day

 

setting on the horizon

the sun reaches down 

to touch the earth

to bless it with light and life

Last Day of COVID Isolation...

After 402 Days, Jean and I will reemerge into society... with masks on... 

Thanks to everyone who worked on getting vaccine needles in arms.

We did it!  

Just Before Going on Zoom

What can I say,
To lift your burden,
To ease your worries,
To heal your pain?
What can I say,
To inspire your confidence,
To give you hope,
To light your way?

We are together in all this.
You lift my burden,
You ease my anxiety,
You heal my pain.
You inspire my confidence,
You give me hope,
And, you light my way.
What can I say,
But thank you.


(thanks Carol for reminding me...)

For my Lammas ("Bread Day")

I have harvested my little volunteer wheat crop... and will include it in my bread making today... well actually, pancakes.  This is my Lammas (Bread Day) celebration!

I Am Learning

I am learning that

• nothing lasts forever,
• if you feed birds, you will feed squirrels and mice as well,
• it's not what you plant, but what grows.
• the wind is brutal,
• everything does not bloom at the same time, nor as long as I might like.
• peas taste better eaten in the garden,
• everything moves, including rocks,
• I never have enough flower pots, or seeds,
• I find spontaneous moments of joy in our garden (if I don't focus too much on what the earwigs have eaten!).

Today is Independence Day in the USA... The earth is at its Aphelion.  The moon is full and prenumbrally eclipsed.  Our grandkids are in town.  And, today is Day 114 of our COVID-19 isolation.