by Deborah Rogers –
This summery photo was actually taken back on a cold and wet, early-spring day. Flip flops and a sun hat seemed far in the future! Now we’re in that glorious part of the summer where all routine has disappeared along with the school schedule, and the long days encourage a change of pace and time to disconnect.
I loved reading this month’s West Coast Gardener (pg 78), where Laurel Rassenti extols the benefits of just observing in the garden. I have bit of a love/hate relationship with my garden. It’s always been more work than I can (or should I say want to) expend. Every year I feel that I’m starting at square one as the horsetail comes back, the blackberry forces itself through the flowerbeds and gravel pathways are carpeted with weeds again.
I’ve put some hard work in over the past few months and pulled the garden back from the brink … well if you look from a distance, preferably with eyes squinted. The thing is though, as the weather has improved and the flowers start to bloom, I care less about the overgrown bits and the chaos that seems to be just one more heavy rain shower away. Like Laurel, I have a favourite spot where I always enjoy my garden.
The weekend that I pull my red stripey hammock from storage and hang it between two tall, and conveniently positioned, cedar trees is a happy one for me. Summertime means hammock time, and basically anything looks wonderful when viewed suspended, gently swaying under a canopy of branches.
My Wi-Fi doesn’t extend that far, and as for many North Saanich residents, cell service is patchy. My hammock is a place where the wider world can’t reach me and I can zone out, or tune in to my immediate surroundings. The birds, butterflies, bugs and bunnies don’t seem to mind me “hanging out” in their space. It’s the perfect vantage point to observe the interplay between flora and fauna; and for me to daydream.
Enjoy our August issue, and enjoy these wonderful summer days!
Photo by Janis Jean Photography. Clothing provided and styled by Cottons and Blues. For more, visit www.cottonsandblues.com.
