I'm thankful for calendars that can remind us what month it is when the weather does not. I am also thankful for the weather we have (rain or shine) knowing that other parts of the world might be experiencing something different or challenging. Our July has been strangely rainy and very humid, which on the plus-side, has filled our well but on the down-side has really almost flooded the plants and slowed the growth. My peppers (prized seeds sent to me from the US for a delicious variety of chilis!) are about 2 inches tall. These are in the green-house mind you, along with very small, flowerless tomato plants. Outside, the squash is lazily blooming, but the tiny zucchinis and pumpkins are rotting before they develop. The thing about rain, or any kind of unpleasant weather, is that life on the farm still continues. The chore list just gets a little bit longer as we try to keep up between showers and some projects get back-burnered all together until there is a short dry window to do them. Sometimes the list gets a little out of hand. We have a large wall-sized black board in the kitchen and we keep track of the bigger urgent things there (fixing fences, cleaning the sheep room) right along side of the fun projects (new gate for the potager, adding a water-feature to the back of the house BBQ space).

After last summers pandemic weirdness, I think we all take a look at this time of year differently. We are investing in creating more projects around the farm. We have fenced in a new pasture for the goats, sheep and donkeys, so that we can rotate and prevent over-grazing of one area. We expanded the growing space, beyond just having the small ‘potager’ outside the kitchen, we took out a dozen aged and sick lavender plants and decided to have a try at berry plants (cassis and blue berries). The rabbits took a big interest in the blue berry plants and have been defoliated them regularly, to the point that we have now removed them back into pots so that they can recover. We are playing with the idea of doing a few small grape varieties in the space instead. I think the cassis will produce in about three years, based on their slow growth … patience. Patience. We also put in several eggplants, fennel and onions and all types of squash, green beans, kale, chard and sweet potatoes. So well beyond just the herbs and salads we have done in the past.

The challenge is the balance - am I right? Because summer should also mean a trip to the beach. or a walk. or an impromptu picnic or dinner out.

Sometimes I find summer can feel overwhelming. For us, because we do not plan vacation time in June, July or August and yet our kids (ages 10 and 17… and 22) are out of school, I do take on a little summer vacation guilt. We try to fit in evening swims at the lake, eat later in the evening, sleep in more (as the farm allows) and I unplug more to focus on family. Lately I have been playing card games before dinner with my youngest, instead of scrolling Insta and for me-time later at night, I currently have a new ‘fluffy’ fiction book waiting for me down in our mailbox to retrieve that I spontaneously purchased a few days ago. But I do feel like we should be doing more amazing-fantastic things … so I am working on my feelings about that.

What makes summer feel like summer for you? Family reunions and fireworks? Beach days and road-trips? Or do you just find that a different pace, the longer light in the evenings, and dinner cooked on the grill, or an easy to read romance novel are enough?

I would love to hear!

Thanks for reading today! Don’t hesitate to send a note to share your perspective of how to find balance during the busy summer season. What’s growing in your garden? What’s cooking in your kitchen or out on the BBQ?