The past month has been hot and dry, but full and busy. Garden season is going full-tilt here in the south, and while I don’t have a big vegetable garden, my little herb garden has been amazingly productive and alive with so many critters. It’s a hub of predator prey relationships. Sometimes I get so excited about what I find there, I forget to take photos to document it all, but sometimes I grab my cell phone and shoot a few pics. And sometimes I just draw or paint something that has inspired me. There is no shortage of inspiration in nature.

The herb garden has been a wonder. In addition to all the insect life, I’ve gotten to know my plants in new ways. The sweet smell of chamomile when it’s dainty flowers are plucked. The sting of the nettles. The sticky resin of calendula. The earthy smell and taste of Motherwort. The spicy licorice aroma of anise hyssop.

Each day has brought a new harvest and now my shelves are filled with jars of sweet food and medicine to last for the coming year. It’s a gift of the sun and soil, seeds and pollinators. A gift that provides as much for my mental health as for my physical health because spending time with the plants and animals – even in such a small garden – is pure delight.

I hope you’ve found a way to spend time with plants and critters this summer – whether in a garden or a walk in the woods – and that you, too, find joy and health among them. Till next time, ya’ll…

Peace and gratitude.

Update: Reader Carolyn asked for a picture of the whole garden, so here it is… A couple of weeks ago…