Laundry, dishes, seeds. That about sums up my plans for the day. I planted a small bed of carrots and beets in May, but the larger beds for winter storage are going in now. Garlic is harvested and drying, peas are done and pulled. So much space has opened up, offering plenty of room for more lettuce and spinach in addition to the beets and carrots.
Later today the first email will go out to everyone who is registered for Harvest. We really don't start until Monday, but I like to open the site a couple days early so people can settle in and say hello. If you'd like to join us, there is still time and we'd love to have you!
Coming up in a few weeks, I'll begin a brief blog/internet/Facebook sabbatical. Probably Instagram too, just for the sake of continuity, but I do love the positivity of Instagram so I am reluctant to let that go. We'll see. I'm thinking at least a month, maybe longer. No particular reason other than I'm just feeling the need for some quiet… and the need to cherish what is before me a little more. To sit in awe of these final months before my daughter turns 18, to soak in the feeling of late summer on the cusp of autumn.
(For the record – this blog's Facebook page is filled with 100% cool and kind people, no issues there. It's just that Facebook is general can be a time suck, and a lot of input… no harm in a little break now and then.)
There is also a part of me that needs time to ponder how to better balance the usefulness and connection I find on the internet, with the dark side that shows up as a result of so much anonymity. Because when trolling reaches bullying/stalker status, you start to lose the feeling of sympathy for someone who might be having a bad day. And I don't like caring less.
More quiet, less uninvited toxicity.
To be clear, my impending radio silence is not about somebody else "winning." It is about me losing interest in sharing a medium with a force that I work very hard to avoid in my day to day life, so why am I willing to entertain it here? (That's a rhetorical question.) But mostly, I just want to power down and hang out with my daughter and husband. And Scout too, of course. He's a cute one.
A little more blogging into August, then a quiet break. The anticipation feels as sweet as I hope the break will be.