Where is summer?

Another day with brief sunshine and very cool temperatures leads me to wonder where summer is.


I went to Home Depot to see if they had any, and after the clerk looked at me quizzically, he laughed and said, "Oh, it must be on back order."

My garden doesn't seem to care that the daytime temps don't get above 58 degrees lately.

Bees are pollinating my raspberries - looks like it will be a
big crop if all the blooms stay on.

The raspberries are in bloom and the bees are busy cross-pollinating. I wonder a little about where their hive is and what their honey might taste like.

I discovered that eating a 1/2 teaspoon of raw local honey this year helped me to avoid the congestion of allergies. Nice.

Peonies bloomed and passed, the dogwood blossoms draw in the hummingbirds and the clematis that Beloved gave me last year is in a glorious state of color.

Interesting to think that he is now with a new girlfriend and couldn't care much about how his gift is still being appreciated. But I am grateful for the color and the present joy it brings.

The dogwood blossoms are quite pink and lovely this year.

I have been out and done some weeding and assessing what really will need to come out this summer and be replaced with something new and healthier.

It really is delightful to go out in my own yard and around the area when the sun is out and the colors are rich in so many gardens. But the rain or blustery winds have kept it cool enough that even a short walk is not that enjoyable.

I think the hot weather we had in April was too much of a tease and now I am impatient for the next season. And really, each day has it's own joy, it's own moment of delight... and I expect if it bolted into the 80's I would be no happier than I am right now.

The solstice will be upon us soon, Mercury will go direct, and everything is in order.

Patience... everything is working out for me, and when I truly allow that concept to sink in, I'm doing just fine where I am.

Clematis, a gift from Beloved last year, blooms with a more
intense color than it did when gifted to me.

We've been back in the U.S. for a month

A sunset from the ridge on San Jose Alta, Barichara, Santander, Colombia.

And there are a number of observations I can make about both the people and the living style that is continuing here vs. Colombia.

1) Everyone seems to be in a terrible rush here. No one appears to have any patience with anyone else and yet they complain that no one is patient with them! Colombians demonstrated they were willing to take time to listen to a couple of gringos/gringas struggle with the language so they, the natives, could provide a service. Here, if you take too much time trying to explain what it is that you are looking for, people are literally rude enough to begin drumming their fingers on the counter!

2) It has always been my policy, being in Public Relations at one point in my life, to return phone calls. I found this to be true in Colombia as well, even though there were times I couldn't interpret all of the message, the people I called did call me back. Here... well, it's no wonder things are in the mess they are. I have called some people several times and do not even get the courtesy of a return message - ever! Or we may call someone and it's not a good time to talk, which is understandable - and we're told, "We'll call you back in (fill in a time slot)." Only the call is never returned. Must be the rush that everyone is in...

3) Fear... a lot of conversations overheard in U.S. malls, shops, grocery stores, etc., seem to be about fear - "I'm afraid the world is....", "Aren't you afraid your retirement funds will disappear?", "Did you hear that Social Security is likely to be stopped?", and "What if we have an earthquake?" It is true my Latin American Spanish is not high-level functioning but I was able to eavesdrop a little bit on conversations in similar locales down there and the message I got there was significantly more hopeful: "Aren't you glad we got a little rain today?", "We are excited about our daughter's school report...", "It was nice that the doctor took time to explain that procedure to us...", and "It was good that the cost of dinner was less than we expected." Much of the phrasing seems to be aimed at a positive view of things instead of fearful.

I am not complaining. There are many things about life in the Northwest that are pleasurable, but the speed of life here isn't one of them. And there are some aspects of life in South America that are significantly more challenging than in the U.S. (like having good quality water all the time!) and harder to overcome. Still, I miss the kind of "shut-it-all-down-it's-dark-outside" way of life and waking up to the crowing of the rooster in the finca nearby. And the noise... or lack of it. I really miss the country quietness. Sigh.