crimson and clover, over and over
are we all persephone, dragged into the underworld for half the year? and on the other side, we have summer:
the luscious farmer’s market fruit, a halo of sugar with every bite. and flowers; flowers forever.
the green smell of fuzzy tomato stalks.
hydrangeas, delphinium, lavender, basil, green onions, sage in my tiny container garden.
propagating pothos and polka dot plant leaves.
strawberry and mango popsicles with lime juice and salt.
blackberry yogurt popsicles with honey.
painting en plein air with watercolor and gouache, finally filling my sketchbooks. daily hobonichi time. soothing artist vlogs on youtube.
rashguards and UPF clothing so i don’t have to apply sunscreen constantly (but, the tradeoff is more sweat).
reading in the warm afternoon light in our backyard, next to a curtain j hung up on the patio, ice slowly melting in our drinks.
that j moved six cubic yards of mulch across our backyard and front yard with a wheelbarrow and a snow shovel.
we are riding our bikes again and i am rediscovering the serotonin rush of a gentle downhill slope on quiet streets. that we can quickly get from home to a place i’ve never been, a busy hole-in-the-wall teriyaki spot, on the power of our own legs and these efficient machines.
that i can sway on the bike to make a wavy line. that i can lean forward to go faster. that i am usually slow enough that “real” cyclists want to pass me; they have somewhere to be, while i am taking my time.
little improvisations. using chopsticks when i run out of plastic handles for my popsicle molds. j suggesting sugru to fix the cap that broke off my stick shift from my 14-year-old car.
it’s going to be so hot this week, but at least it’s not over 100ºF.
that we are no longer in a place where we have to walk miso in knee-high grass and swarms of biting flies.
watching movies and crying (spider-verse, nimona).
having an entire week off work.
having the time, finally, to sweep and clean our garage, which has a lot more useable space now, and it’s easy to reach our bikes and tools.
miso’s sun-basking.
and stealing a whole-ass steak when our backs were turned and i completely forgot that of course a shiba inu would not simply sit and politely stare at an unwatched steak on a plate on an eye-level coffee table, no, she would much rather hork it down in a full-bodied gulp-lunge-wolf.
olivia rodrigo’s perfect banger “vampire” and realizing i kept playing F instead of F# on the bass.
miso’s REM cycles, the twitch of her paws and her jaw moving (probably feasting on steak in her dreams). and the small grunts and yawns and grumbles she makes. the dead-eyed stares and the mouthful of baleful teeth.
hosting backyard parties. eating and laughing with our friends.
that it’s the beginning of july, my favorite month, with many more good good things to come.