today's chunks of joy. lemon & poppyseed banana bread with bog bilberries, and a goat moth caterpillar. i presumed it might be wise to put on gloves before handling the critter, and i found out it was — this guy eats wood so the jaws are extra powerful. they live inside trees for years, because it's such hard work to grow up eating the tough fibre, then finally they emerge, search (rather frantically, i might add) for a place to pupate and overwinter, and finally the following year they become a moth for about two weeks before dying. needless to say, they are a bit on the rare side, so spotting this gigantic, busy thing in the garden kept me entertained for a good while.
yesterday i celebrated the beginning of august by camping out on a blanket for the whole day. i had to drag my camp around all day long to stay in the sun, the trees have grown so tall around the yard. i was accompanied by a small army of dragonflies, little golden-green and rusty-ruby killing machines. they are so beautiful and impeccable. it's not unbearably hot anymore, and the air smells faintly of fall. august is my favourite month of them all.
gooseberries, raspberries and currants are demanding my attention at home, but in the woods the harvest keeps on calling me as well. sometimes i wish i could split into two so i could manage everything. i've also been wishing for an extra pair of hands to do the mosquito-shooing while picking. they have little regard for repellant, if there is a spot of skin untreated, they'll find it.
the past three months have flown by. i had big plans for sorting out my stuff, selling things, clearing up space... where did the summer go? it was just too hot to do anything i guess. i even drew a fancy mind map about my summer chores, but apparently that drained out all of the energy.
