Solstice Musings

It’s summer.  Having made it through a brief but brutal hot spell and having survived poison ivy with the help of herbal remedies (jewelweed soap and tecnu gel) from a great local hardware store, I think I’m ready for some fun now.

We’ve lived in our house since 1980, but until this year haven’t used the lovely old brick fireplace at the back of our property.  Johanna recognized its potential, worked hard to clean it up, and proposes to gain the skills needed to repair it.  We celebrated Aloisa’s birthday eve with S’mores around the campfire, and it was magical. Since Loi loves hot dogs I look forward to using it again.

After too many years of letting nature (and vinca vine) take over, I’ve re-claimed the space around  the fish pond our kids dug when they were teenagers.  Creeping thyme will fill in without being invasive, and the new brass frog adds just the right sound effect. The pond is right under our bedroom windows, and I love hearing it before I fall asleep.

Before June ends, John and I are heading out on a week-long road trip.  We’ll start off attending a wedding at a farm in New Jersey and then spend a couple of days in Connecticut with my sister. We’ll explore Hudson, New York for the first time and re-visit Ithaca fifty years after we first arrived as Cornell freshmen.  We hope to visit one or two of the wineries that have proliferated in the Finger Lakes since out college days there.  A classic summer escape, and I can’t wait!

Of course, summer will also include some politics and a fundraiser.  We’ll be hosting Zack Space, candidate for Ohio Auditor, at the end of July. The Auditor will have a voice in re-districting and the opportunity to help re-build trust by strategic use of the investigatory power of the office.  Space’s dad, Socrates Space, was chair of the Tuscarawas County Democratic Party, and I’m glad to have the opportunity to help.

August is wide open, but I have high hopes.