Chamomile-Infused Lemonade

1 cup honey or sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh chamomile blossoms (or other herbs)
1 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 1/2 - 3 cups water

Bring honey/sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring every few minutes. Allow syrup to boil for 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.

Place blossoms in a jar. Pour syrup over the blossoms and stir to make sure they are covered. Let infuse for 2 - 3 hours.

Strain into pitcher. Add lemon juice and water. Pour over ice and serve!

Oh velvet bee, you’re a dusty fellow;
You’ve powdered your legs with gold!
O brave marshmary buds, rich and yellow;
Give me your money to hold!
-Jean Ingelow

In an attempt to slow down and calm a whirring brain, I took to capturing a few things happening within my garden this May. I used to do this quite often, but it got lost somewhere along the way. What a joy it is to notice the little happenings, the new surprises each day. I never seem to have trouble growing tomatoes and this year is no exception- they are a little behind, as are all my seedlings this year, but still growing beautifully.

This year, I decided to plant some clover in our lawn to add a bit more lushness and the hope of a greener space in the heat of summer. I mistakenly over-planted this one section, but I’m finding the lushness they already are providing is a delight. I also built some new bamboo structures to house my peas and beans- there is a simple joy in working with raw materials to build these structures each year.

The chamomile is growing back from seeds dispersed from a larger plant last year… That pop of red in the rhubarb patch is such fun- rhubarb grows so quickly and it won’t be long before it’s time to make rhubarb slush, relish, jam and more. This plant provides so much for us.

In an attempt to add more whimsy to the nighttime garden, I purchased these solar powered mushroom lights recently. I haven’t decided yet on final placement, but I thought I’d see how they fare among the lily of the valley. They already add such atmosphere when the sun goes down each day.

I look forward to all the ways my garden will continue to surprise me this year!

Pied Beauty
Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brindled cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscapes plotted and pieced-fold, fallow, and plough; 
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow, sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

June is always a lovely month to me. The earth begins to burst once the rains come and everything starts looking green and lush. My garden has been both a delight and a frustration at times, but mostly it brings me joy each day. There was also a hopefulness I felt this year that went beyond the garden- we received our vaccinations and began to look forward to what the summer months would bring. This poem stuck with me recently as a way to celebrate June and the awakening of summer.

In terms of my art, I’ve been on a bit of a sabbatical. This year has been beyond tough on my mental health. I’ve felt the need to step back, after pushing myself to create in the winter months. I have really just needed to focus my creative energies on other things such as the garden so I can hopefully recharge for the days beyond summer. It’s always a tricky mind game to step aside from creating for a while- there’s a sense of guilt or shame about not working that sets in, especially when I’m at home, but I know the break is good for me. I need people time and we will be getting so much of that this July and August!

Speaking of people time, I was so thrilled this June when we could have our first family bbq together with family we had not seen in months. We ate and hugged and cried a little and delighted in just finally being together after such a long, dark year. I know more are coming and it thrills me to no end.

In the garden, it’s been a real dry year, but we received one good rain which is when I grabbed my camera and ran out to take some photos. The garden is having quite a few successes this year- tomatoes are doing fantastic. Chamomile, Cornflower, and Calendula are all blooming beautifully (the 3 C’s I’ll definitely plant again in future years!)

The vegetable garden (or potager, as I like to call it) has had a bit of preventable failure- my brussel sprouts got eaten by worms, my peas got eaten by birds, my kohlrabi got eaten by ants… but some things seem to be faring better. Peppers, beans, carrots, garlic, and ground cherries are looking healthy. Not to mention all of the abounding veggies over at my community garden plot- I don’t have them pictured but over there we have corn, beans, squash, onions, beets and potatoes that are all looking so good.

As the school year came to a close for Marko, we decided a getaway was in order. It’s been an incredibly tough year for him as a teacher and he was just exhausted by the end. We took a few days to travel up to one of our favourite spots, Prince Albert National Park. We hiked and explored and found some great beaches to take a dip in the lake as the heat wave picked up. It was so refreshing!

Wild roses line the shores of the lake. They are some of my favourite prairie flowers.

Summer clothes shed on a beach blanket can only mean one thing- someone is swimming and that someone was me. The water was so clear and cool on a very hot day. Butterflies seemed to dance around in clusters on this particular beach, so I named it Butterfly Cove.

Treasures found along the way- Northern Bedstraw always guiding my path with its sweet scent.

On the way out of the park, we caught a glimpse of wandering wildlife. Always a treat to catch a mama and her cubs (from the safety of a car, of course!) And just like that our trip was done and we were ready to embrace July!