the high season
top down, vintage car on the main road, looking out to Turtleback Mt.
Summer is here. And so are the tourists, with lots of questions like, “What should we do? Where should we go?”
I send them to Mt. Constitution or Olga Artworks, I tell them to go hiking, look for sea life on the beach. I put on a smile and welcome them to our little slice of heaven even when im struggling to find joy.
There’s a lot of implied pressure on us islanders in the summer to REALLY SOAK IT UP, to swim and hike and finish all the house projects and play sports and also rest and spend quality time with your kids! and do all the things we’ve been dreaming about since last summer. But it’s too much. With the kids out of school us parents get less of a break, our work doesn’t slow down, the chores at home still have to be done.
I’ve been asking myself the same things. “What should we do…about all the stressful things life has piled on lately? Where should we go from here, if anywhere?”
As an Aquarius rising, I’ve always been on the cutting edge of everything. I’m not bragging, it’s just a fact. I live in a place where innovation and inspiration flow easily but the general public hasn't yet caught on. The kind way of labelling it is, ‘early adopter’. I like learning about all the ways humans are using nature to solve our world’s problems. But the bleeding edge is a lonely place, a bitter place.
Lately I’ve been wishing I were someone other than myself. Someone who loves finance, computers, spreadsheets. Someone whose skills and passions align with the things society seems to value. Someone who can make money in their sleep.
While I sleep, I travel home to Chalk Bluff, Tx. I find my Gran still able to converse with me freely. I see her house, frozen in time as it is in my memory. The dark wood dining room table stands where we dyed easter eggs until lightning hit the house and took out the power with a loud, POP! I see the formica countertops where we spread spam onto white bread and made “grasshoppers’’ out of lime sherbet and 7-Up. I look out the windows to the back yard that led to White Rock Creek.
I spend too much time on Zillow, looking for the perfect farmhouse with a bit of land, that I’ll never buy. Something with good bones and large oak trees, with pasture for my future horses.
I delete social media for the umpteenth time. I talk to my boss about all the ways Texas is not a safe place for me to live. There’s no going back. Just endless longing for what was, for the feeling of possibility and hope that my life was of my own making.
At least there are raspberries. And roses.
We bought a 1 gallon raspberry plant from George Orser at Orcas Farm around 7 years ago. It’s given fruit every year but not enough to feel like it made a dent in our grocery bill. This year is different. Margot and I go out to the garden everyday and bring back a full colander. I’ve made muffins, and smoothies and made raspberry version of my favorite gluten free, vegan scone recipe.
Peaches from Rising Oak Farmstead
I also made a couple upsides down peach cakes with peaches from Rising Oak Farmstead. We’ve all been enjoying them with a bit of coconut milk whipped cream for breakfast.
It’s been too cool for the veggies in my garden. The lack of heat has stunted growth and allowed the slug army to conquer all.
I was able to make a tiny bit of dairy-free spinach artichoke dip with this years artichoke haul. About two hours of work for 6 oz of dip 🤣.
I brought three new works to Smörgåsbord over the weekend. I picked up new frames to gold leaf at the exchange and ordered myself some oil sticks for my upcoming birthday.
Hay-ing season on Orcas. Colors that make me want to paint.
