It’s Summertime, and the livin’ is…

The first full day of summer, 2016. Not only was it the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, but it was a full moon. No one slept terribly well when the thunder and lightning arrived at around 2:30am. Gunther, however, slept until 9am, soundly.

It summer time and the livin’ is …

Life on the farm is in full growth mode. There are cutting gardens of flowers for the wedding and a greenhouse full of veggies to feed the guest. I watch from the sidelines as a small army of people descend on the property to fix, paint, plant and tend to the magnitude of this tiny universe. My part has fallen to Gunther’s care and cooking. I’m finding a good groove of working with the fresh bounty and the luxury of preparing a true ‘sit down’ of hearty proportions. At this rate, I should be gaining stones of weight but that is offset by the flip side of summer.

I squeeze in a couple of hours a week on horseback, walking in the woods with Alice and puttering in my own garden. Days are long and outside entertainment abounds.

I shift from three days of submersion at the farm to three days of meet-greet-network-write for the Chamber.  A different wardrobe, a desk, and another stage in the theatre of my life. Meetings begin at 7:30 or 8 am, ‘before work’ for those with other responsibilities. When immersed in that persona, I excel and expand. It too serves a need in me. I’m busy, creative. I pressure myself to produce.

There is yet another side of summer living. I write outside on the deck at 8:15pm. Breezes ruffle the new leaves, the light is still strong and the bugs are minimal. I’m dressing in soft cotton and sandals, the four layers of winter are gone. Birds are making final proclamations – who knows what it is they are trying to say as the day slowly fades.?!  Flowers are brilliant in the soft dusk and the scent of earthiness has replaced wood smoke.

It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy…