Dear Curiosity Journal,
Just when it seems the intensity of summer is waning, another flare of fiery days sends us rosy-cheeked and sweating into the gardens. I harvest and dehydrate oregano, echinacea, calendula, and sunflowers, hoping to keep the bounty of summer at my fingertips well into the winter months. I gather quickly in the full sun, then retreat to the coolness of the packshed to process the herbs, hiding from the midday heat like any ordinary animal. The sheep seek shelter in the pasture, crowding under the trees. Balio digs down into the “natural air conditioner” of the earth in all of his inconvenient locations (walk paths, tool areas, gardens, etc.). Flies buzz lazily around the kitchen, and the entire scene feels as slow and sticky as the honey spooned into my morning coffee.
~Joy
