Of crafts and Summertime

I have a lot of projects on my various lists that have been sitting dormant most of the summer. Summertime is filled with the growing things- vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers. It is a time of furious picking (the speed, not the emotional state of mind). A time of drying bundles and bundles of herbs, more than it would seem a person could possibly ever want or need to use.

When summer is nearing an end and the children are preparing to start the new schoolyear, I usually feel a sense of urgency. It is an "oh no, already?! It can't be!" sort of a feeling. The garden has another solid month of growing time and possibly another month beyond that if the cold weather holds off.

But the season shifts palpably in these next few weeks and then I really feel the squirrel instinct kick into high gear. Is it some latent genetic trait that ensured the survival of my ancestors through the cold dark harsh winters? Is it remnants of a full and carefree childhood filled with gardens and pantries full of jarred sunshine? I don't dwell too much on where this instinct arises, I merely am at its mercy.

In these brightly lit long days I find myself labeling jars with delightful things such as "dried lemon" and "clover blossom"; things which promise a hearty nourishment in the deep winter such as "dried turnip" and "raspberry jam". I find myself doing daily yard checks and picking yet another small bundle of mint to dry for tea, a check to see if the nasturtiums are budding (the pickled buds make a delightful substitute for capers and the blossoms add such a yummy zip to a salad). A few things are setting seed and the songbirds are feasting on the bounty.

It is a busy time- the plants run rampant everywhere needing a constant vigilance to keep them within their bounds (or in the case of weeds, removed and exiled).

There too are all the family summertime activities which fill the hours and days with much excitement and memory-making.

Very little in all this leaves much room or energy for the hobbies I also love. The cross stitch, the scrapbooking, reading, making music, learning herbs & essential oils, sewing, weaving, or my latest... knitting. I was given the most awesome advance birthday+christmas gift: fine wool yarn, needles, and a pattern (and stitch markers too!) I'd been wanting to make a shawl and now I'll be able to. When I have time. And when the weather isn't so hot that the thought of wool yarn gives me heat rash, LOL!

If I can get my camera working I will take some photos of herbs and things to share.