Alexandersmap

    Tag: June

    • The Magical Hours

      Water patterns reflect on the tree trunks, illuminating the bark and lichen in a dance of morning light. The wave patterns slowly fade as my bathing suit air dries in the early warmth. Birds and chipmunks fill the air with a soundtrack of their greatest hits. It’s going to be a scorcher today, they seemed to agree.

      The house wren that moved into the bluebird house dominates the conversation, but the chipmunks have a lot to say too. Until I stand up and abruptly reset the agenda from banter to assessing the new guy. In the sudden hush I catch the sound of a woodpecker, unseen, seeking a meal in a tree somewhere in the woods. The bass tone indicates deep work.

      It’s such a short time, these magical hours spent in outdoor spaces when everything in the world just seems perfect. No bugs, no pollen, no shoes, no problems. That these days exist at all is a blessing. I imagine this is why people live in Southern California, where every day is this kind of perfect. Here we take what we can get while it’s here, and boy do we love it when it’s here.

      Early mornings are reserved for the knowing few. I catch a glimpse of a neighbor out watering potted plants as I do the same with my own. We nod a greeting to each other and return to the work at hand.

      The garden isn’t the same as Mother Nature. Magic doesn’t just happen in a garden, you’ve got to put the work in. These are the days when you’re rewarded (or punished) for the work invested in a yard and garden. Harvest is still weeks or months away for the vegetables, but we’re entering peak season for the flowers.

      How do you know when you’ve reached a peak? When the world aligns in moments of wonder? When everything just seems to click for you? Or do you have to wait until you’ve declined from your peak, when things aren’t going as well and you see, maybe for the first time, just how good that moment was?

      I’m past peak when it comes to athletic performance, but haven’t yet peaked in my learning. If fitness is the flowers in your garden, learning and mental development is the fruits and vegetables, often taking until the very end of the season to fully develop. Like flowers your fitness level doesn’t have to stop midway through your season, and like vegetables you can find enlightenment well before the end of your season.

      There are no hard and fast rules in life or gardening, but there are seasons to honor and work to do in each. In each day there are moments available to appreciate the blessings that have come your way. Those magical hours that seem to fly by so quickly when life seems just about perfect in every way.

    • Summer Solstice

      Summer Solstice

      The 4th of July is the big bang of summer, but late June is when the longest day of the year happens.  Summer solstice was June 21 and we’ve started the slow tilt away from the sun.  It’s hard to imagine because summer’s just begun, but it’s literally the beginning of the end.

      Late June is full of weddings and strawberry festivals and kids going to camp.  The tree pollen finally eases off and you can start breathing again.  The days are warm but not dog days of summer hot.  Lakes and the ocean are still warming up and remind you that you still aren’t that far past winter when you jump in.  Many of the perennial flowers in the garden are peaking.  Roses are bursting and bending over with the weight of their showy tops.  Annuals just planted weeks ago are hitting their stride.  Late June in New England is ripe with hope for the future.
      Other cultures start holiday right about now.  Americans work right through with maybe a week off wedged around a long weekend so you don’t have to take the extra day.  This is the time of year when you recognize the folly of this system.  Two days off on the weekend just don’t give you enough time for all that there is to do this time of year.  Beach or hiking?  Sailing or gardening?  Swim in the pool or go out for an ice cream?  Take a bike ride or have a drink with friends on the deck?  Its an embarrassment of riches.  These are days we’ll remember, but there’s so much to do that you can’t possibly fit it all in.
      Best to savor these moments.  Be happy with whatever you choose, shift down a gear or two and appreciate the long days.  Our lives are about living now.  We only have today, and the days aren’t getting any longer.