there are little treasures growing in the shady groves. i found these tiny, lavender-coloured violets when i sort of stepped off the road into an area usually covered by tall ferns, trying to find out why a tree was creaking so loudly. this has been our home since 1984 but i don't recall ever seeing them before. i picked some for pressing and also some ferns and herb paris shoots, woodland bouquet for a vase.
wood sorrel is in bloom all over the place. we call them fox's bread or cuckoo's cabbage. i'm especially fond of them, i believe because they gave me my first experience of what it's like to pick and eat something delicious straight from nature. and they are beautiful.
summer came today on the wings of a swift. i was already forewarned last weekend, by a dragonfly that rested by my blanket for a while. i spent an entire day just sitting under the oak, watching it unfurl its buds, sketching things i saw fly by. a raven was one of them, i waved my hand like i always do, and it stopped on top of a tall tree to sing some raspy songs. i can't even begin to describe how much it means to me that they have taken residence in this area, and that they take notice of me like they do.
another thing that marks the beginning of summer is wasps. every year, for a day or two, they find their way indoors, one by one, or maybe just the one, and i keep escorting them out. and then they stop. we did that routine on sunday. so, officially, summer can begin.
