The solstice has passed and now summer is upon us with a riot of blooms. June is such a joy to behold after a long island winter and a slow spring, and it’s also my busiest month, full of gardening and museum work. So come, friends, and walk along the laneway with me, underneath a bower of lilacs.
Image Description: A dirt drive towards a barn with lilac bushes and an apple tree arching over it.
Writing
For summer, I wanted to round up a batch of YA books that offered a slightly more challenging read. These five books are all quite different, but each one has something to say. Read about them here. I also made a few contributions to NPR's summer edition of Books We Love. Check out the full list here.
Reading
June has offered precious little time for reading, but I do have a few things to share with you!
IImage Description: Two books on a stone bench.
I feel like I have recommended the works of Cat Sebastian in almost every newsletter to date, but really, if you enjoy historical romance, I don’t feel like I can overstate how delightful her books are. I already told you about The Queer Principles of Kit Webb (which was my introduction to her work), and now I can also shout the praises of its new sequel, The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes. It tells the other half of the highway robbery shenanigans begun in Kit Webb, and also chronicles the romance of a complete cinnamon roll of a highwayman and a really prickly, difficult lady who has turned rather enthusiastically to a life of crime. The thing I love most about these books is that they don’t make excuses for the inequities and abuses of class and power that were (are, cough cough) a blight upon society. All the characters are fed-up socialists (and if they aren’t to begin with, they are by the end) and the happily-ever-afters are never at the expense of their ethics. The only problem is, these books have kind of ruined me for historical fiction that handwaves away the fact that the very concept of aristocracy is garbage. Totally worth it, though!
And pivoting into the realm of speculative fiction, Black Water Sister lured me in with the promise of a nice young woman being haunted by the ghost of her extremely cantankerous grandmother and then delivered a really unique and atmospheric exploration of gentrification, immigration, and family trauma. I loved the visceral way this book depicts gods and ghosts alike, and I highly recommend it.
This was also a big month for audio books, as I discovered that they are the perfect balm for a hectic mind. I have a lengthy commute to the museum each day – and an anxiety disorder that tends to act up during long drives. I decided the solution was to keep my brain busy with a story, and so downloaded more of the works of T. Kingfisher, who, along with Cat Sebastian, has become a new favorite author this spring. Paladin’s Strength, the sequel to Paladin’s Grace, which I recommended last month, was especially enjoyable. It’s another tale about a berserker paladin who has lost his god and the woman who reminds him that life is for living – in this case, a werebear nun. And it’s also a heist story! The audiobook narrator for this series is really perfect – he’s got a rumbly, buttery voice.
Crafting
I’ve known all month that I was going to make myself a peony halo, so it was just a matter of biding my time. The Peony Queeny was a fairly simple crown to make. I twisted some wire into a sort of headband, then cut and inserted the blooms.
Image Description: A bush full of peony buds, not yet open. Me, holding up a wire headband in front of my face. The peony crown resting on a white fencepost.
The mosquitoes were absolutely unreal as I tried to get these pictures! Sometimes I consider including the outtakes where I’m squinting in the sun, swatting at bugs, and trying to keep the crown from toppling into my eyes. But that would ruin the magic, don’t you think?
Image Description: Me, swanning around in the trees wearing a white peony crown and a green and yellow dress.
Growing
About half way through every June here, I despair. All the plants seem spindly and unhappy, the seeds I direct sowed aren’t germinating, and various insects are determined to eat everything (this year my nemesis is cutworms, which I didn’t even know to be worried about)! But then suddenly, everything comes to life all at once.
Image Description: The veggie garden from several angles, bursting with new growth.
There’s still a lot of work to do, but by next month’s missive, it should be a jungle of blooms and fruits! I’m especially eager to see the transformation in my new cut flower bed, which is only just starting to take off now. A real joy this year has been watching all the additions we made to the perennial landscaping beds last year come into bloom. We added tons of things like foxglove, yarrow, and poppies, and they are glorious! I've begun the practice of cutting a bouquet every Sunday, and it's lovely to have things to cut while I wait for the annuals to get going.
Image Description: A new garden bed planted with rows of flower seedlings. Colorful flowers against a grey wooden fence. Four weeks of Sunday Bouquets.
Interpreting
June first was our first day opening the museum to the public, and we’ve had a busy month full of school groups, tourists, and a million projects!
Me in costume in front of the Yeo House with a tea cup. The Shipbuilding Museum with an “open” sign. Me inside the house in the library.
I’m very excited to be launching a new season of The Haunting of Yeo House – the haunted tour that I created last summer for the site. I’m really proud of this program – it’s creepy, funny, full of historical info, and very folksy – and I can’t wait to see how it evolves over the summer. We’ve already had to add a new haunting episode that happened on our first day back! And we’re also offering a package deal with a really cute tea shop in the nearby town. You can go for afternoon tea, have your tea leaves read, and then come on the haunted tour! Doesn’t that sound fun? I want to do it myself! If you’re in the area and you want to give it a try, you can get tickets here.
Image Description: Me in costume, holding up a tea cup in a very eerie fashion.
Musing
I really want to make sure this letter is something that arrives in your inbox each month to be a balm and a comfort. I want it to feel like you’re coming over for a cup of tea and a walk through the garden – so I do my best to keep things light. But sometimes, it feels strange to not acknowledge the seemingly endless list of horrors we’re all coping with, and I wonder if that’s the right thing to do. I don’t have any answers, only small actions that I can take, and a hand to offer you as we look at the flowers together and remember that there is still beauty, even in bad times.
Image Description: Pink and purple lupins waving in a green field.
Until next month, wishing you the best books and the most berry-full brambles,
Caitlyn
I write this from the traditional unceded territory known as Mi’kma’ki. Two books by Indigenous authors that I really enjoyed recently are The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson and Mi’kmaq Campfire Stories of Prince Edward Island by Julie Pellissier-Lush.
(All opinions expressed in this newsletter are my own and do not represent my employer.)
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