The certain slow of summer…
Idling down now,
I’m pulling off onto summertime’s backroads
like the ladybug pausing on my shoelace
while garden chimes dangle their songs on the breeze
and my soul feels again the soft hum of an old classroom fan
ticking off the last long moments
until I could pull off my shoes for the season
and climb barefoot up my favorite tree,
peach in hand,
not quite juicy yet
but peach enough in June
to nibble away the fuzz,
savor the tart flesh
and save the pit for some shenanigans
when the time turned ripe
to drop it down below.
I loved those times high up in the trees
and how well their branches kept my secrets,
held my reveries,
and let the certain slow of summer unfold.
It’s the slow I remember the sweetest
and the season still sings me home
to that gentler rhythm
and somehow there comes an ease
and I stop flapping so hard
and soar a little more
instead.
My garden is a riot of color now,
each day a new blossom,
and it’s time to turn up the quiet,
and let my heart putter along barefoot,
summertime slow,
drifting on a warm easy song.
“Summertime and livin’ is easy”
-George and Ira Gershwin
I am not certain whether your words or your images are the more beautiful. Both make my heart sing – thank you.
Ah Jennifer, you make me remember my childhood of walking barefoot in the grass and picking wild flowers and laying on my back and looking at the sky and seeing the designs of my imagination in the clouds. Summer were slow and filled with living in the moment with hardly a care.
I yearn for a slow summer. Funny how time is relevant.
Enjoy your slow summer and fill your soul with all it many beauties.
Hugs,
JB
Oh those slow days unfolding in the moment! Love the memories…wonderful memories.
Oh those slow days unfolding in the moment! Love the memories…wonderful memories.
Instant flashback. Those photo’s help the cause as well Jen. Thank you for sharing. Blessings dear one.
I could live in summer all year long, love your photos
Amen, sister. Jennifer, I was thinking about you yesterday, during my Saturday slow-down moments, and imagining how your gardens must look, smell, and feel. Here you are to greet me this morning, with all of your playful and wise and honest answers….ah. I take a deep breath, brace myself for my final week of flapping, and use your poetic words for my mantra as I now can see a sunny light at the end of my craziness…thank you from the bottom of my heart. Love and hugs galore, kath
Your beautiful words bring back wonderful memories of climbing up an apricot tree in our yard! I loved getting up there and feeling so tall and powerful, looking at the world from a different point of view.
Your line “just peach enough” made me smile! There were many not quite ripe apricots that I bit into…but I didn’t care.
Thank you for this lovely start to my day!
your photos are so beautiful, jennifer!
happy summer to you.
lovelove!!! xoxo
I’m longing for those slow summer times, coming soon, one would hope! You mention your peaches — one of the things I always bring back when we visit Rick’s dad in Banner Elk are peaches. They are sweet, succulent, juicy — and we can’t eat them fast enough to keep from losing a few. But we try.
Savor every second, with your explosive colorful garden and a gentler pace. Sending wishes for a glorious summer with real life pictures that make even your beautiful photos look pale!
Even my writing is green and fresh and summery – this was a delight to read and view – the certain slow of summer – lazy, hazy days of summer! Thank you for the sunshine!
your riot of colour soothes my soul
I remember when summers were slow. I haven’t figured out a way to slow them back down yet! I hope you are able to so you can enjoy your flowers! (Thanks for putting me back up in a tree – my favorite place to be when I was a child!)
As always the richness of your words and the brilliance of your photos cheer my heart
Your garden, oh the color and variety, how it makes my heart smile!
You know, summer is my husband’s favorite season, it’s not mine. And though the rhythm of our lives does not change much in summer, especially his, I am wondering if it’s the memories of his childhood summers that makes him love it so much? I will have to explore that.
xoxo
This post has to be my all time favorite, Jennifer. “It’s time to turn up the quiet…”! Your words are so beautifully chosen – they make my heart sing, reflect, meditate – all at once. I am going to copy out this verse, in the most beautiful font I can find, and put it on my dresser mirror, to read every day. Your talent is rich, your heart is amazing. I am so glad to be connected to you.
Thank you for sharing yourself with us. xo
I love your garden Jenny! Your softly spoken words remind me of how beautiful the world is…. just had a rough experience with some nasty people and your poetry is like a healing balm on my skin. Always like this silent place…it’s so calming. Thank you xxxx
Summer is just beginning to bloom here. Your words remind me of the many hours I spent climbing in the trees as a child. It was one of my favorite activities as well as playing in the creek. Wishing beautiful summer dreams to you.
Your photos are simply amazing….this blog just takes me to another place…joy, solitude, peace!! Thank you, and I will visit often!!
like the ladybug pausing on my shoelace
I love that. I love that you write sentences like that. More, I love that you notice things like that. Your words remind me to slip into idle, too.
Oh, sweet girl! Thank you for sharing your gorgeous garden … and keep enjoying the slow-ness.
Always refreshed by my visits round your blog 🙂 Beautiful
i do envy those long slow summers of my youth in WI…now they just wiz by in a blur…your beautiful words make me remember those lovely days!! 🙂
Oh how I would love to walk through that garden of your. Thank you for the virtual tour and amazing narration. It was almost as good as walking beside you as you narrate!