First Week of Summer

This is the first full week of summer, when the days are long and time slows just a little. Even though we've been having summer-like days, it's full on us now! This transition is a big deal: I've found that if I celebrate the start of summer with enthusiasm, the rest of the summer becomes richer and more wonderful.

Agenda:

1. Read "Discover Inner Peace"

2. Plan a fun first week of summer

3. Harvest raspberries

1. Read "Discover Inner Peace":

Today I did some more reading from this beautiful little book by Mike George (2000), with the subtitle of "A Guide to Spiritual Well-Being". I read it first over 20 years ago!

Chapter 5 is The Gifts of the World, and the first section is on landscape and the senses. He writes about using a walk in nature as "an inspiring moral lesson... for the purposes of self-discovery". 

"Such exercises are instructive as ways to open up the mind to new ways of thinking. They stretch the imagination, and make it more supple. However ... they carry with them the danger of over-intellectualizing the world of sensual experiences."

The author reminds me that meditation in any form is a balance of becoming aware of self as pure spirit, and at the same time to mindfully experience phenomena directly through the senses. 

2. Plan a fun first week of summer:

We plan a peaceful and varied kick-off to summer that includes some family-time, some friend-time, and alone-time, and plenty of time outdoors:

• Today I will celebrate summer with a sharing circle in my backyard, and a perhaps a small fire in our portable fire pit.
• Monday we will make a birthday gift for grandpa.
• Tuesday is adventure day with the grandsons, at the library and farmer's market.
• And Wednesday is Grandpa W's birthday! We will make banana splits, and play in the pool.
• Thursday is my well-earned summer retreat day, to work in the garden and make art.
• Friday we will have a delayed birthday party at the park, with pie.
• Saturday is Maidyoshahem, and I will celebrate by biking to the river.

2. Harvest raspberries:

We are right at the glorious beginning of our raspberry harvest, picking a large bowl of berries daily (which I usually eat with yogurt for breakfast), and then grazing on the leftovers while we play in the wading pool.

Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) belong to the genus Rubus, along with other cane berries such as blackberries and boysenberries. The Rubus genus is part of the Rosaceae (Rose) family, to which almonds, apples, cherries, hawthorns, strawberries, and many other fruits also belong.

Watering and mulching: Raspberries have shallow root systems, so they need to be watered regularly in spring and summer. Mulching around the plants (using a straw-like mulch such as pea straw, lucerne, hay, etc) helps retain soil moisture and keeps roots cool in hot weather, and also suppresses weeds all year round.

Harvesting: In terms of cropping seasons, there are three types of raspberries:

1. Summer-bearing types – early cropping, produce their crop in summer
   
2. Autumn-bearing types – late cropping, produce their crop in autumn
   
3. Everbearing types – long cropping, produce a large main crop in summer, and a smaller second crop in autumn.

I have both summer and everbearing berries mixed together in the row, both of which are producing right now. I can tell the difference because the summer berries are larger and not as tart. I like to eat them blended together. (The everbearing are more vigorous and are gradually pushing out the summer variety, so I will need to intervene sometime soon.)