June Haze
There’s been a haze over upstate NY due to wildfires in Canada. It’s an unsettling change, because it’s not hot or that humid out, but the entire county is cloaked in this thick reddish-brown fog that makes a chilly 6AM feel like a thunderstorm is about to strike.
Yesterday, that haze got heaviest right before a storm broke in the afternoon. I was able to get home in time from a Solstice Committee meeting just in time to comfort Gibson, who still shakes like a pup at thunder. I hoped the storm would clear the skies a bit, but it’s returned today and I assume will build until another shower comes or simply dissipates. Thinking of the people and animals up north dealing with the fires.
This weather isn’t important to my day, but I’d like you to understand the ethereal fogginess of my June morning when I describe my guerrilla flower farming riot:
I spent the morning between chores and writing scattering, planting, (possibly even wasting) some of the packets of free seeds I got yesterday from a friend. Here in town a local seed company was giving away BOXES of last year’s seeds and while the germination isn’t guaranteed, I figured I had nothing to lose?! So today I planted lavender and black eyed Susans, so many more sunflowers, calendula, forget me nots, blanket flowers and more! I planted guards in the old compost pile and more butt nutts near the pig pen. I hope this place comes alive with flowers and food!
I figure if only 3% actually end up as flowers around here that’s 3% more than I had a promise of yesterday. And these silly little endeavors you try on a Wednesday morning can add up. So that was an early order of business.
I need to spend most of today's haziness inside working, and that’s frustrating because there is so much weeding to do! But I figure if I make it a reward system, every time I cross one big task off my to-do list, like making a batch of lavender soaps or finishing a pet portrait for a customer, I will allow myself to go out in the haze and weed one section of the garden.
Between the farm and freelance work, I'm working on making paper mâché masks for Litha. The plan is that there will be a pile of animal face masks for the procession to the bonfire, and for people to keep as souvenirs/favors from the event. Right now I just want enough for the kids and some adults attending, plus our characters for the Holly and Oak King pageant. It's a lot to tack on to my work schedule, but I like being so active in our little church group and planning events for the kids!
So, I need to get off this blog and get to work, as I'm focusing most of my creative energy on income right now, I'm a month behind and in a week I'll be two months behind on the mortgage and that's when the panic sets in, so I am off to bark my hustles and try and catch up on old sales so I can make room for new ones! Wish me luck, because every month gets harder but I remain faithful to this little scrappy place.
Onward to the day!
I thought I’d have a break in writing, folks! Didn’t get any word until nearly midnight, and I woke up to a single notification on my phone. Guess my week off of diary entries is put off for another day, so I shared my morning here :)
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