You've Been Replanted
Hello friends! I’ve moved my newsletter to Buttondown. If you want to continue receiving my missives, do nothing and they will continue to periodically show up in your inbox. I left Substack for very personal reasons: they give a platform to Nazi White Supremacists while at the same time letting harassment of trans people continue unabated. I am a trans person, so it felt bad and unsafe to continue writing there.
So, you’ve been replanted! And I hope you’re comfortable here in our new spot. If you’re a paid subscriber, you should be connected already to the new system. (Please lmk if there are any interruptions.)
The weather right now perfectly matches my mood. One minute the sun is out in the blue sky with puffy, white marshmallow clouds floating by. Then, suddenly, a hail storm stops in to break a few windshields. Then perhaps a little rain cries down, watering the hellebore on my patio, which apparently loves all the unpredictability.
The cherry trees and tulip magnolia trees are putting on an all caps SHOW. Branches heavy with luscious blossoms, petals falling to the ground like pink snow. My love, Psyche, drove me around Portland six times in two days and I could. not. feast. enough.
I'm trying to learn from the weather and the trees and their ability to go with the flow. I, too, can be unpredictable. I can be moody. I can hail overtop and have sunshine and fair weather on either side.
My beauty is in my bark, which gets craggy and ultra-textured, and also in my petals, soft and velvety, that flare bright pink, but only for a short time, relatively speaking, before letting go and turning brown, pelted by raindrops, smashed underfoot into a polkadot carpet.
I laugh and the birds call to each other. I watch a small chestnut-backed chickadee repeatedly poke their head in and out of the dead trunk where a nest holding babies hides. I can’t see the babies, but I understand their ravenous nature. They are made of need and want and demand, because otherwise they will die. I know that exact vibe intimately (and yet I somehow still exist, even though as a child my needs were not met, let alone my wants).
Yesterday, the tulips had barely poked a chartreuse tip above ground, there were no nubby buds on these trees, and the birds had nowhere to hide. Tomorrow it will be fall again, quickly followed by quiet winter the day after. No matter what stage they’re in, the trees are still glorious and good, as are the birds and flowers. I hug the trees and they hug me back. The rain runs down my cheeks and off my nose and shoulders. My shoes are soaked. My fingertips press the wet bark and I inhale the musky scent of age and wisdom.
And then, there's the sun again, flirting with the new spring greens, filling up my eyes everywhere I look. I will saturate here until I can’t take in one more drop of verdant color.
Don’t miss out!
Come join my Garden!, where I spend time tending to your needs every weekday. Contact me for a free week to try it out!
This week's schedule (April 7-11) in Blooms in the Garden is (all Pacific):
Daily post in the 30 Days group - This group, 30 Days of Anything, is trying to add new habits or get better at a skill or let go of things that no longer serve them in 10 minutes a day. I’m adding body movement to my day.
20 min Meditations: Mon, Tues, Thurs, & Fri at 7:30am - Join me for a tended meditation experience that will get you grounded for your day.
Body Doubling/Co-Working: Mon 11am-12:50pm, Wed 9am-10:50am - I'm getting taxes done this week, but you can work on anything you need to.
Doodling: Tues 11-11:50am, Thurs 10-10:50am - Dipping into creativity helps your brain think better! It resets your parasympathetic nervous system and opens your mind to new ideas. Come get your whimsy on or work something out. I've got some prompts if you want one!
Upcoming: Book Club on Tues April 22nd, 5:30pm - This month’s book is Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde
Message me and get a free week to try it out. Would love to see you there! xo Leoh
You can book one-on-one time with me here.
Leoh Blooms (he/they/she) is a writer, artist, mental health advocate and speaker, and a trauma-informed mentor living in the Seattle Washington area. Leoh founded and hosts Blooms In The Garden, a community using art and whimsy to support better health. They teach bite-sized self & community care, along with creative practices and life skills.
Previously, he was a consultant for Showtime’s “United States of Tara.” He is the author of the books “Not Otherwise Specified” and “Heal Something Good.” His essays under the name Leah Peterson Crawford are included in the books "Things I Learned About My Dad (in therapy)" by Heather Armstrong, "Mend It Better: Creative Patching, Darning, and Stitching" by Kristin M. Roach, and "True Mom Confessions" by Romi Lassally.
Their work has been featured in Peach Fuzz, Butch Magazine, Shondaland, BodyMindGreen, Craft Magazine, PULPMag, The Huffington Post and more. Their essay, “My Drug-Induced Near Death Visit From Jesus,” was chosen by writer Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays With Morrie, to be included in his essay collection on the platform Medium.
