It must be hard to try and “go with” power outages and internet skips. The heat is hard enough. Change. And where we are. The squares are lovely all out of proportion to what they are. I mean that as a compliment. I can’t figure out WHY they are so lovely. It makes me wonder why I don’t make them. And the picture of your limbs with cloth is just fine!

All of the photos are amazing but I just love the selfie. I could feel a little of the peace you describe by the river, under the oaks. Thank you for that.

I had the same sense of filling in a huge blank space of history. How could it have been blank? One of the biggest human migrations in history. It helped me to think, as Wilkerson suggests, of the Black people fleeing the South as refugees... the changes and loss of 'homeland' were as great. But the harrowing business of getting out safely and then encountering so much Northern hate... hard to read. When I subsequently read two memoirs (one by the then Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, the other by Jacqueline Woodson), they made so much more sense because of this newly built framework. Smith's family went to California, Woodson's to New York. Both from South Carolina.

How adorable Miss Sophie is!~ I like seeing the running tipped like this. It gives a different feel.

What a stunning tribute, Hazel. The stars as messengers of hope. The blue “Mama square”! the angel wings!! You have put in writing much of what I have been thinking both in terms of the overwhelm of all the losses, the lives snuffed out, and also the necessity as white people to be willing to get it wrong. To throw ourselves in, even, knowing that we will undoubtedly get things wrong. The contrast to our sons heart breaking.

love seeing pictures of your family, reading your descriptions. I think I'd rather have dry 106 than moist 90.

Respect! This is one in a long line of racial justice projects that you've taken on with cloth. I especially admire the ones you've done with children.

I’m thinking about Menachem’s idea that we (as white people Wanting racial healing) must create culture strong and true enough to hold Black pain. Somehow this cloth speaks to that level of holding. It looks like an opening to another world. And it doesn’t even look like cloth anymore. (Menachem of “My Grandmother’s Hands”)

“Zen af” — loved that! That blue is stunning. And I’m glad you got the spigot splitter. Hoses and buckets can start to feel like downright foes even in a small yard.

❤️❤️❤️

Acey works some kind of magic, doesn’t she? There’s the surface, which is plenty interesting, but then there is also the energy. I’m glad you can open up to what is being said between the words. I wish I had something useful to say about boys, having raised two. Not sure I do but this came to me in the garden today: my therapist hears about frequency of contact and how much it is like pulling teeth and says “you’re almost estranged,” but that isn’t it at all. There’s lots of love and it is never in question. They are neither of them verbal communicators. It has always felt like it was my job not to take their style or needs personally. Also: it is very difficult to compete with a screen. It just is. The Voyager is one of my top two decks and I have the booklet but never refer to it. But I always relate the minor arcana back to what it looks like in the Ryder deck to help with meaning.

I love how you manage to capture both the complexity and the mood of the moment without actually getting into it.

Happy Solstice to you, too, Acey. That photo! It has glamour, old style glamour, and somehow the light in the water gives me Hope.

Like Acey I was struck by the layering of meaning between neighbors. My beef lately is how homeowners are not asking their yard crews to abide by the ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. We're supposed to get a few month's respite from their awful whine. I hate how it seems to get framed as ME/Cranky Neighbor and NOT law/result of a three year deliberative process. And yeah, I am cranky. I have a dog that lunges and barks but I never say he's friendly. Just assure neighbor that he's leashed.

well, if this is you not trying to make even stitches, maybe I should give that a try. HA

you're always ingenious in adding circles

that statement grabbed me too. could be a motto to live by

Now I see it.

What is wrong with me? Both cloths look like nine patch B&W? Both equal B&W? You don't have to explain, I'll keep looking. And by the way, I do read these posts every time they drop into my mail box. I'm glad you've settled in to the new home, the new season. Hard to believe that the Solstice is this week already.

And.... you're back

I wouldn't be able to name all the wonders Nancy has given me. Most recently, I've been using thread she sent me... glittering, good quality European threads. First, your table settings are deeply satisfying to look at and the supporting narratives interesting and thoughtful.Your questioning of their value tells me more than anything else here about how unsettled you are. Second, what to say IS RIGHT. I want to say so much and then so much again and I find myself posting, deleting, and feeling mute. Of course a healthy part of my brain keeps reminding me: you think this is hard, TRY BEING BLACK FOR TEN MINUTES! That helps me keep perspective. But it just keeps roiling along and I mean roiling. I hope you find your voice again soon, because your ability to contextualize for the rest of us is a skill equal to your table setting aesthetics.

Can I keep you? Precious. Sounds like a LOT of animal traffic down the hill!

“keeping me in touch with how much a garden gives, constantly, by way of solace and deep-space dreaming. Re-membering the core of soul's self. Maybe it's collective - that core - in radiant light as well as underbelly darkness?” Yes. Thank you for the ongoing garden narrative which reveals not just things about the plants and evolving sanctuary and sight lines, but also about aging, dreaming, relying on others, and planning. So rich!

How did you capture that lightning?!

A foxglove volunteer — how glorious! I love that shot with the gate, too. It’s calming to come here and witness (even a little) how you care for yourself and your plants.