Tuesday, June 21, 2011

solstice meditation







let it be said here that summer is my least favorite season.
we've talked about this before - i'm well aware - but hey, blogs get repetitive.

it's probably my scandinavian blood. my propensity for butter and oily fish has landed me with an extra thick skin, ill suited for heat and humidity.
don't like a damn thing about bar-b-ques.
could write a memoir on my experience with thunderstorms.

but turns out that most of the things I do love take center stage in summer months, flowers, fruit, vegetables; you know the drill. so i'll grin and bear it for a 30th year, waiting patiently for labor day.
making hay while the sun shines, if you will.

this morning on my walk with Nea (who, incidentally, shares in my distaste for the warmer months) I happened across a small parcel of happy weeds with purple flowers tucked amongst the evergreens. But what the hell was it called? We continued on, my mind painfully sloughing through my repertoire of plant nomenclature. Trying to extract something from your brain can be a strange, almost physical experience.

Crown Vetch! - how could I forget? i was obsessed with this weed for a few weeks last summer...it's soft abundant takeover of a marshy field...it's myriad lavender flowers. Believe it or not, vetch holds up great as a cut in water.

so the dog and me, we backtracked and I grabbed it up roots and all; dutifully filling my role as the NYC parks department's faithful weeder.

it is such things that give me small pleasures this time of year...when all the swiss chard, rosé and raspberries fall short.

happy summer, fools.

12 comments:

Alyson Redding said...

It sounds like you belong in Seattle! We've had cool, rainy weather all year - and because of that everything is always lush. Your flowers would do amazingly well here.

Sally May said...

How funny, you would hate my life of endless summer. I love nothing more than getting up in the morning and putting on a bikini for the rest of the day. Lucky the world is a big place and the internet can beam me photos of your cool climate flowers.

Michelle Stiles said...

no kidding, Alyson is right. You belong in Bellingham, WA. It is green as all get out and you are promised clouds every day. I like it. I love it.

anna said...

This is random..but I know from reading your blog so much that you like Stevie Nicks and she just announced a tour! http://rockalittle.com/

Love your blog, store and classes! Can't wait to take another one soon :)

Anonymous said...

I'm not much of a summer person either. Last night was so hot & humid here in Providence; I tossed and turned all night trying to get comfortable. However, I DID have a dream I came to Brooklyn and you cut my hair for $600. It looked damn good too---totally worth every dream cent.

Jo said...

I have to admit, that is a pretty good looking weed. It looks familiar, actually. I may be responsible for the murder of a few of those. Please forgive me.

Sarah Ryhanen said...

D-
come on! I'd cut your hair for free anytime, but you may want to talk to eric first...

Monica said...

Your photos make me really happy, and i look forward to peeking at them in the middle of crazy days, especially lately.

Funny that you hate summer, yet you're a summer baby... I just think you're in the wrong place....San Francisco, where the growing season doesn't end, something is always in bloom.... let's not get started on the food, oh! the food....

Thanks Sarah!

Anonymous said...

Crown Vetch! We planted it on the bank behind the house one year....it grew like crazy and I loved it. But it does get about a foot high...and dad finally mowed it all away. Do you remember the bank full of those lovely purple flowers? They also plant it along highways on the sloping banks. Looks so pretty there.
I don't think of it as a week....

Lunch was lovely, BTW.
I'll be down again next month for another.

Mom

Zoe said...

I've been enjoying your blog for a few months. I work as a gardener, and I love flowers - tending them, cutting them, bringing them in to my bedroom. Your artful palette and style and mood have colored my own compositions (the ones I make in my mind throughout the day)... I've been so inspired by your bouquets. This morning on my dog walk, I saw a thick patch of crown vetch and wondered... would Saipua use these lovely weeds? How totally delightful that you noticed and appreciated them too!

Anonymous said...

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