The Rise of Summer
Ah, sweet summer - it’s on the rise.
It is dried mango, eaten by the handful,
The intoxicating perfume of lilac flowers on the breeze,
Wildflowers blooming without a care along the roadsides,
Wind rushing through new leaves as a thunderstorm approaches,
And the cocoon of cool air created while hanging laundry out to dry.
A couple weeks ago, Eric and I went into phase two of building our dream veggie garden. I’ve long known that I wanted to add a couple more raised beds in the back yard, in the awkward patch of lawn right outside my studio window, but last fall I came across a photo of a squash arch and became obsessed. It would be fun and unique and a VERY efficient way to manage the ridiculous amount of vines you get when growing squash of any variety. Easy peasy - except for this little guy…
We’ve definitely had a problem with the rabbit population in our neighborhood - they are completely out of control. The squirrels, too, but they’re another story for a different day!! While all other rabbits we’ve seen have been out in front of the house, this little guy decided to make a home for himself under the shed in our backyard - aka, in the perfect position for sneaking out to snack on our new veggies! We tried rabbit repellents and letting the dogs out and positioning the glare of a fake owl right at his front door - but he was having none of it and continued to eat the lawn bald and harass the few other green things we had already planted. So as a last resort, we bought ourselves a rabbit trap.
It took a little fiddling - a combination of apple slices and carrot chunks and a big fallen branch over the trap to make it feel more camouflaged - but within twelve hours he was caught. We drove him out to a natural area and released him into the grass where he quickly scampered off and away. I’m a little worried that he instantly became a snack for a predator in his new neighborhood…but we just couldn’t think of anything else to try to dissuade him from wreaking havoc with his grazing.
With Mr. Rabbit relocated, we got our paws on some gorgeous cedar boards and built the beds. Spent a rainy Sunday pounding t-posts into the ground. Carefully maneuvered wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt. Stretched hail netting, taught, across ribs created by connecting lengths of PVC pipe. And then? I planted the sweet little squashies I’ve carefully tended since April. I cannot, CANNOT, wait to see this arch absolutely covered with vines as the growing season progresses.
On Sunday, I set the final stones and added the final polish to my June collection. Pieces are done and ready to go and I’ve begun the process of documenting their stories in words and photos. This was my goal - to be able to switch fully from creation mode to sales-woman mode leading up to the restock and, unlike back in March, this time around I was perfectly on time to make the transition.
But my eyes have finally been opened to the Black Lives Matter movement and it’s been important to set aside my own agenda to allow for the long-silenced voices of this world to take center stage. I feel like it’s important to take on the role of side-kick right now - to be the support system and the cheerleader and the shoulder to lean on. To be, above all, empathetic and really LISTEN so I can learn and help to bring about change.
Now there’s definitely a part of me, a bigger part than I’d like to admit, that wants to throw a tantrum and talk about how putting my plans on pause for a few days is ruining EVERYTHING (cue the whiny child’s voice and crocodile tears). But that’s IT - that’s white privilege right there and, though I shouldn’t be, I’ve been surprised by how deeply it’s been woven into the fabric of my life.
I mean, poor me - having to inconvenience myself while good people are out there dying simply because of the color of their skin, right? Bleh! I won’t allow that line of thinking to continue - not even for a minute.
I am simultaneously disgusted and fascinated to find this ugliness living in myself - what are the ways in which I use this system for my own gain without even realizing it? What would my life be like if I wasn’t able to rely on the color of my skin for safety? It’s feeding a curiosity and a fire to DO better and BE better.
So, straight away, I went and bought a digital copy of Layla Saad’s book Me and White Supremacy (which is a workbook to help one learn about and identify the ways in which white privilege permeate our society so that we can then begin to dismantle it). I’ll be journaling my way through a chapter a day and HOPE it will help give me a broader perspective and more open mindset. Eric and I also went ahead and made a donation to the ACLU and I came across this collection of black women-run business (so we’re going to pick a couple of them to support, too!).
In our community, I’m going to make an effort to seek out BIPOC businesses. I’m going to make sure that I make real, direct eye contact and smile at everyone I interact with, regardless of who they are or what they look like. And I’m going to make sure that I don’t shy away from hard conversations any more. Because the few minutes of discomfort I might feel, the anxiety about saying or doing something wrong, is absolutely nothing when compared to a lifetime lived in fear.
Summer is on the rise - and it’s going to be a season of growth beyond just the plants in our garden.
