Bring on the Heat, Indulge in the Sweet

Small sweet treats are popping up all over. Raspberries, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, and gooseberries. To compliment all the deliciousness, there’s also lots of eye candy at the farm. Every color imaginable is represented in the cut flowers I am learning to grow and arrange in bouquets for the first time.

Green bells of Ireland, purple balloon flowers, red zinnias, yellow sunflowers, white statice, buttery cala lilies, pink goditia, orange butterfly bush, and grey blue sea holly. Our tables at market are filled with fragrance and beauty.

I am a true summer woman and fully embrace the long hot days. When I lay my head at night, I wonder if what I did that morning happened the day before since so much happens in just one day. This past week I house sat in South Amherst. There are 15 chickens and 4 pigs. By the time 10 p.m. rolls around, I wonder was I really up at 5:30 a.m. letting the chickens out and feeding the pigs? Or was that yesterday?

It was luxurious biking the two miles to work rather than eight and getting home before six meant I had more time to bathe, cook dinner, catch up with friends, relax, and prepare for another day.

I have been tenting in the family’s back yard that I house sat for the past two months which means less commuting, less biking/driving, less physical exhaustion. It’s a win-win situation for the family and me because I get to spend time with their kids and do some chores in exchange for a great location to put my tent. Soon I will erect a large tipi that my dear friend Margot built last year.

Sleeping under the stars and moon is the best in the summer because the nights tend to cool off enough for a good nights sleep. The fireflies are my entertainment rather than the television.

I cherish my time off. This weekend I am in New Hampshire visiting relatives. My Aunt Betsy organized a yoga retreat, which I attended for a day on the porch of the Manse. My cousins and I went kayaking and swimming in the reservoir yesterday. Mount Monadnock stands grand in my view right now as I sit on the porch until the heat drives me to Silver Lake for a dip.

Days like this remind me how important it is to have family close by. I feel very fortunate we all get along and share similar values despite our differences. I especially enjoy watching the women in my family lead all of us toward more sustainable, holistic lifestyles. For the first time, I am realizing that many of us consider Southern New Hampshire to be a home no matter where we were raised. Maybe someday more of my generation will gravitate to this home.

I know some of you are laughing because you know I am a summer woman and can’t tolerate more than a month of cold temperatures. But, we all have room to change. Brrr…enough of that winter talk! And now it’s reaching that point of the day when it’s too hot to sit here and type. The lake is calling my name. Enjoy the peak of summer!