milkweed is in bloom here in the city and the smell is intoxicating. so sweet, carried on the hot humid city air like a love potion….honeybees and pollinators of every persuasion buzzing all over the flowers, carrying the sweet nectar up and down the block, over kids playing in the streets, past wailing sirens with a little wave to pigeons eating a hot dog bun in the gutter.  guys fixing their cars in the driveway don’t even know why they suddenly feel a little drunk, old  ladies with random bags of stuff shuffling along don’t realize where that erotic flash came from.

the mullein bursts out of cracks in the sidewalk, some giant specimens with 3-5 branches tower over me while others, smaller, bloom brightly in defiance of a previous weedwhacking episode, littering the gutter with electric yellow blossoms. honeybees frequent these too,  remind myself to check inside before grabbing a buzzing bloom-scaring us both!

i go outside, i feel like i’m being pleasantly electrocuted by green stuff. it’s not subtle right now.  i used to shy away from summer, too hot, too sweaty, too loud….now i roll with it,  ok i’m gonna be sweaty for 90 days, enjoy it. hot, sticky, loud, sweaty has its advantages. what was i so afraid of?

the apothecary smells like lavender. bunches drying, making tinctures, infusing oil, and a lavender honey. lavender and sage, all over the house, purple-blue-soothing.

 

“the people of today, who largely shield themselves from nature, find it difficult to comprehend the ecstasy of midsummer, of being unconditionally swept along with natural occurences”-wolf d storl

 

swept away! i can hear the shrieks right now. i can’t lose control! i can’t take off my shoes! i mustn’t encounter a drop of moisture…and mess up my hairdo! try it. open the windows. turn off that stupid air conditioner. let some air flow in.

it’s not even that one must DO something. something is already doing itself. just stop blocking it.