In deepest July

I am in a dark cave I can hear the whole wolf world howling at me but it’s muffled I am in the cave scrambling out because the tide is rising

I saw remarkable and terrible things this week

when I was at the beach an eagle flew down and plucked an oyster from the sand not three feet away from where I stood his tail feathers spread he took his time with it in no hurry to fly off

this morning I sobbed watching John Lewis’s body travel over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama in a cart pulled by two black horses a cart with red iron wheels driven by a stately Black man in a top hat the bridge covered in red rose petals Mr. Lewis’s family walked behind and near the end of the procession each member of his family was given a single long stemmed rose which they placed in a row on the bridge upon which the black horses walked their hooves loosing the petals I could hear people singing We Shall Overcome

this is a historic moment in our country’s dark time on a Sunday in which fires blaze in our cities a Sunday in which the president is a craven beast encouraging us to bring civil war to our infected cities our infected farms our infected schools and hospitals our infected democracy a terrible dark time in this country

I saw a dead owl on the road this week his huge wing fanned out I watched three young boys carry a forth by the arms and legs down the street all of them laughing I watched a lame rabbit drag his broken leg behind him as he disappeared into the underbrush at the state park I walked past an eight year old boy tap dancing like Gene Kelly alone in the back of a truck with the tailgate open a look of pure concentration and joy on his face

two people flew giant homemade squid kites at the lake

Friday I baked a peach pie and after I put it in the fridge before I baked it I realized I forgot to add flour that magic bit that binds the juices so I cut the top of the dough off in a circle and mixed the flour in with the peaches and sugar and nutmeg and lemon juice then put the top of the crust back on and tried to reseal it as best as I could and that pie was delicious though not very pretty having been through violent surgery

I found some lavender in a bucket on the road *thank you unknown lavender woman* and have hung it near the back door to dry

this week I ate my first tomato and mayo on white bread sandwich of the year the tomato from Maria Lopez’s garden not mine the mayo Best Foods the bread as close to wonder bread as I ever get it was spectacular one of my most favorite treats since I could hold a sandwich one of my pure summer joys you can take the girl out of Spokane but...Spokane is connected to me like my shadow

the madronas all around me are shedding their red bark to show their startling bright green underthings these amazing trees these luscious beauties I am embracing deepest July outside at the state park in the lake and in my fragrant kitchen in my woods in my garden I am embracing deepest July with my entire being because I am and always have been and always will be a summer girl