The Third Act

Summer at Baba Yaga's house...

It's officially been summer for nearly a week.  Interestingly, the weather the past couples days has felt more like early autumn...low humidity and very pleasant warm (but not hot) temperatures.  By the week's end both of those factors will rise, with storms moving in.  Either way is quite fine.  The garden seems to be doing well and in fact, most of my energy continues to be spent in that direction.  There is always something to do among the plants...and for that I'm grateful.

Aside from the garden, some recent projects include: fever few tincture in the making, a trio of new cyanotypes produced (to add to the Baba Yaga's Garden series) and a lovely mango ice cream (created with the desire to use wonderfully flavorful, but unpleasantly fibrous mangos) made in the kitchen.  The garden produce has been trickling in, every day finding something new to pick.  No glut as yet, but a nice little stream has begun.  Today found collard leaves, the first of the Japanese eggplant and a handful of okra to harvest.  Also of recent collection, poppy seeds pods, calendula petals and chamomile flowers.

I delight in the birdsong every morning, even if it's incessant screeching by the hawks.  Their cries have become an appealing background noise for my day, knowing that they're doing their job to keep down the rodent population.  Of course, if there are hawks there are crows, with occasional long winded sparring by the two.  At this point I can almost recognize the calls of half a dozen local birds, but it takes practice.  And then there are the cicadas which have recently woke.  The mornings are a cacophony of chattering birds and the evenings are becoming a chorus of insects and frogs.  And it's not summer without fireflies!  There are more of these luminescent critters this year than I recall in the past three I've been a Virginia resident.  Could it be they like the garden too??  During the span of daylight hours, there is rarely a second that goes by without some voice of nature to be heard.  It's all rather rich...

 

mango ice cream:  mango pulp, heavy cream, one cone of piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar), a bit of chipotle and cinnamon powders and a dash of pink Himalayan salt

 

feverfew leaves and flowers infusing in vodka

 

today's harvest

 

calendula petals drying

 

a bunch of chamomile hung to dry

 

poppy seed pods (paper somniferum)

 

new cyanotypes

 

 

The garden...

While in the garden, taking pictures this morning, a car pulled over to the curb.  An older woman rolled down her window and told me how much she likes what I've done in my yard.  She said she couldn't garden any more because of an injury she sustained many years ago and therefore appreciates being able to see and enjoy what I've created out front.  We chit chatted for a bit, the kind of small talk that gets people familiar with each other.  It was quite lovely and I thanked her very sincerely for her kind words.

There are compliments that are often hard for me to accept genuinely.  Not because I don't think the giver is being insincere, just because I have, well, issues.  Compliments on my appearance, or personality, and even some times my artwork make me grapple with the internal struggle I have regarding self worth.  But my garden...to accept compliments on that is easy. Perhaps because I know that plants will grown effortlessly when given the proper environment, the garden is more of a collaboration...one that springs naturally and joyfully, and therefore the compliment is not all about me.  Not only that, I find it truly delightful that other folks are grateful to share in this beauty.  This neighbor made my day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

yes, Avery was complimented too :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closure

Today at counseling, I was expressing to my therapist, well, many things.  In a round about way, I came to pinpoint an issue that is touching many aspects of my life.  It seems I continue to have difficulty with closure around the subject of the end of my marriage, my divorce.  I tend to be a tenacious loyalist (if I want to view this characteristic as a plus rather than a minus...in truth, it's a bit of both), compassionate and empathetic.  While these attributes form my creed, they can complicate moving on when necessary.  None of this is a judgement, but rather an observation with which to work.  It's easy to get impatient with myself, as if there's some timetable, but I know better than that. The process is mine alone.

At the end of my session, I asked if there's something to work with or through before the next visit.  "If your divorce was a death, where is the body?" was the question posed to consider.  I thought that was rather profound.

 

 

Washington

I took a little trip up to Washington for a few days.  It was a lovely time with friends, enjoying deep conversation, fun and beauty.  Interestingly, I only came home with a couple rolls of film.  That being said, the adventure wasn't specifically to make photographs.  Still, here are a few digitals to illustrate the primeval beauty I had the good fortune to experience...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a test... (a little now and then)

I wanted to see what it's like to embed a video on my blog...apparently, it works!

 

addendum...  here's another...an oldie...

 

 

I have all sorts of thoughts, when I go back to viewing old videos...or photographs.  There is the tug on my heart, a sense of loss.  But really, what's lost?  Circumstances may be different, but that memory is the same...and I hold it with great tenderness and appreciation.  I'm an odd sort!
 

If nothing else...

....there is always the garden...