Solstices and Strawberry Moons, How to Tell It’s Summer in Seattle, and Thinking About Summer Downtime

Hummingbird with fuchsia flower

Solstices and Strawberry Moons

I hope you all had a wonderful solstice! We had a beautiful full Strawberry Moon right before. It’s been grey and gloomy ever since – in fact, as I’m writing this, I’m watching cold rain fall outside my window.

That doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate summer in our own way – yesterday I even went out and deadheaded roses and cut back my out-of-control mint and lemon balm. I went out and explored the Woodinville area’s gardens, too. And of course I’ve kept up my birdwatching. This week, I got a shot of a pileated woodpecker in flight. The hummingbirds have been busy too.

Rainier Cherries from a roadside stand

How to Tell It’s Summer in Seattle

We stopped by a roadside cherry stand yesterday and picked up a pint of Rainier cherries for $4. That is how you can tell it’s summer in Seattle! It may be 60 degrees and rainy, but those Rainier cherries are a beautiful seasonal harbinger. And they are so delicious.  I missed them so much the two years I lived in California. California may be the state of fresh produce, but they just don’t offer anything like Washington State Rainier cherries. We cook them and serve them over Greek yogurt for breakfast or put them into muffins or just eat them plain and unadorned. There are almost never enough to make into a cherry pie, believe it or not. These cherries disappear fast!

What to Do with Summer Downtime

For me so far, I’ve had to deal with some physical MS stuff that has led to some enforced downtime, including sleeping much more than usual and just not having the mental or physical energy I’m used to. I even had an appointment at a pain management clinic (at the encouragement of my primary care doc and neurologist) where I talked to an anesthesiologist about different options for me for nerve pain (I’ve had a couple of weeks of trigeminal nerve pain.) It was actually fascinating and the doctor answered all of my questions and it was nice to know that if I get “10” level pain again I have options. (I’m allergic to all the opioids and can’t take NSAIDs or aspirin, am allergic to novocaine, and have woken up from anesthetics during every surgery I’ve had.) By the way, I had red hair until I was about seven, and she told me redheads are a little more difficult to treat for pain. That’s not a myth! 23 And Me’s traits indicate my hair is red or blonde and my eyes are blue, even though I’m actually a brunette with gray eyes. Phenotypes vs Genotypes! Tricky! Anyway, if you are dealing with acute or chronic pain, it might be worth a trip to your local pain clinic just to check out the options. There are more than there used to be.

Sylvia with Stacks of unread magazines

So, I’ve had some extra time and not a lot of extra energy. I’ve written a few poems but haven’t sent out much. I’m researching presses again before I send out either of my books and have a huge stack of books to read. Here’s a picture of Sylvia that illustrates just how I feel – I’m overwhelmed by my to-read pile!

Summer has never been my healthiest period – it’s when I usually catch the flu or pneumonia, when I’ve been hospitalized for MS, caught various bugs, and broken bones. I’m not sure why, but summer and I just do not get along. It’s also almost my 25th (!!) anniversary and I’m hoping I’ll be healthy enough to celebrate!

I can feel frustrated with myself and my physicality or just embrace the concept of downtime itself and allow myself to rest and recover. I’m trying to keep the television off and audiobooks and creativity guides around. I spend time sketching (which I’m terrible at) or dreaming over gardening magazines, listening to music, and sleeping.

I believe as creative writers – or even just as humans – we need a little downtime. We are not productivity machines. There are rises and falls, times when I write several poems a day and weeks when I don’t write anything. We don’t need to submit poetry every single day (and besides, you probably know fewer journal read during the summer – although there are exceptions.) They say children need to spend time being bored in order to grow problem-solving skills, imagination and creativity. Maybe adults are the same. We need to allow ourselves some unscheduled time, especially during the summer, when deadlines are less likely to be pressing, and people are on vacation anyway. Remind yourself you are valuable outside of what you produce. Maybe start up a hobby you’re not good at (see aforementioned sketching) and listen to music you’re unfamiliar with. Snip flowers from the garden and keep them in a small vase next to the bed while you nap (I particularly like roses, lavender and sweetpeas.)  I bet you will be feel better emotionally and physically, and creatively refreshed.