Hi friends— here we are, the last day of June. Summer has definitely set in here in Oklahoma, with temperatures in the 90s and supposed to reach triple digits tomorrow. I can’t say that I’m excited about this, but we are harvesting cucumbers and zuccini in the garden and I’m using this time to work on some autumn projects, including the 2021 calendar!

The summer flowers are in bloom in the garden, and I’ve been enjoying seeing the little birds coming to use the birdbath and visit the birdfeeders. Recently the goldfinches have shown up, drawn by the sunflowers we have growing. As long at the cat isn’t nearby, the birds seem to be having a grand old time and don’t mind the heat at all!

The beautiful larkspur that was all over my yard, some of which grew to about 6 feet tall, has now faded and gone to seed. This weekend I pulled up the spent larkspur from the roots, giving it a good shake so that it reseeds itself. It seems to be one of those plants that does so happily, and I love that it comes in so many different shades of blue, and even pink. Farewell to the larkspur this year, but I know it will be back again!

As for me, I’m dealing with the summer heat with my old stand-by coping mechanism— thinking about autumn! I have actually given myself an assignment for the fall that I’m working on all summer. I’m going to make an autumn booklet full of little bits of writing, photos, art, several patterns and a few recipes. I love little seasonal booklets, and I thought it would be fun to try to make my own! It will be full of musings and celebration of an old fashioned autumn, and I hope you like it! Above is an illustration for one of the pages. It’s going to be very folk arty, for sure.

Before I go, I thought I’d share with you a couple of other photos of whats blooming in the garden–

The lily came from my grandmother’s garden a few years ago, and I am very proud of the Cone Flower (Echinacea), which grew from seed! I can remember when I was little, my grandma had a whole flower bed full of those flowers, and it would be covered in big butterflies during the summer. Hopefully I can inspire it to spread in this little flower bed, and can have a butterfly haven here at my house!

Well, that is all for right now— like I’m sure it is with many of you, not much happening here. We are still home, trying to wait out this terrible virus, and all fun summer activities (including going to my beloved New England) are cancelled. It’s going to be one long summer, but I plan to bury my head in dreams of autumn as much as possible!

I have some new autumn prints coming soon, which I can’t wait to show you! And also the calendar is just about ready to send to the printer’s for a mock-up, and I cant wait to see how it looks! So I should have more to share with you very soon!

Hope you and yours are safe and well–

Take Joy!
h