Happy Summer Solstice Harvest!
Happy Summer Solstice! Blessed Litha for my fellow pagans! Today is the longest day of the year. More sun, more light, more warmth, and tomorrow there will be a touch less, as we head towards autumn. This is a harvest festival for us, because it is traditionally when serious bounty began to come in from the fields, back when we couldn’t just run down to the grocery store and buy strawberries in January.
So, what good is a harvest festival in modern times where some people don’t even know that tomatoes grow on vines?
It’s true that the closest some of us get to a field is an apple picking afternoon at one of the local orchards, or the local organic isle, but harvest isn’t just about the stuff that feeds the body, it’s also about what feeds the heart, mind, and soul.
Harvesting means you’ve chosen what you wanted to grow, so you could get the right seed and plant it. You found out how much sun, how much water, and how many days until it would mature into a yummy vegetable. Pick something you want in your life, a better job, new couch, water garden, a family trip to Yellowstone, a romantic trip to Paris without the kids, hike the Appalachian trail, get pregnant, own your first designer watch, once a week date night, eat a more balanced diet, exercise more, take horse back riding lessons, take some college classes, be happier, love yourself more, knit your first sweater, finish your first novel, finish your 33rd novel, find a girlfriend, find a boyfriend, spend more time alone – whatever you want to bring into your life, that’s your seed.
Now that you know what you want, you need to figure out how much sunlight and water it needs, because some things need more shade, more solitude, others need bright sun and for you to reach out to more people for help, or instructions, or just to get them on board with the plan. The trick is to decide what steps you need to take, or things you need to do, or not do, to bring your harvest in before the end of the year.
For me, I want to finish the latest novel I’m writing by Thanksgiving day of this year. That’s going to require serious dedication to putting my butt in a chair and typing out pages on a regular basis. The light and water needed to finish the book is time, consistency of effort, and faith in myself and the book. On a good day, I’m so sure of myself that I’m unassailable in my certainty. On a bad day, I’m equally convinced I’d be killing trees to no purpose if I print the pages out. Oddly, I took today off from writing, to pursue two other things I wanted to bring to harvest in my life. I wanted koi for our water garden. I accomplished that by putting my name on the waiting list at the local pond store, because the fish go fast, and the big, pretty ones go faster. The fish were so gorgeous I was giddy with their beauty, and spoiled for choices. I began to laugh out loud as the clerk caught the fish I pointed out. I helped some, and was quickly splashed from glasses to sandals with water. We had one fish leap completely out of the tank to avoid being caught. I’d never seen such energy and fight in carp. It was so much fun, that I came home laughing and smelling slightly of clean, well-cared for fish. Watching them flit through the water in our pond made me smile a lot.
I also talked to the other half of our poly foursome today, and that feeds into another harvest goal, that I want even better communication to make sure that everyone’s needs get met, and most of their wants.
Jon, my husband, and I also got to visit with our friends, Sam and Eric, and since one of my goals is to see more of our friends, more often, that was perfect for today. They got here in time to help with the adventure of acclimating the koi to our pond, thanks for the help guys. What do you want to accomplish? What are you willing to put time and energy into so that you can harvest it by the end of the year? Think on what you need, what you want, and make it happen.
11 thoughts on “Happy Summer Solstice Harvest!”
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Love this. Marianne would be proud 😛
Also your koi are GORGEOUS
Blessed Litha to you, as well!
My goal is to have my second novel, (not in the same world as the first), finished by the end of the year, and by finished I mean the first draft. On top of that I’d like to see a little more going on with my blog, but one step at a time, eh? 😉
It sounds so easy. But what do you do if life has beaten you down to where you no longer make wishes or have dreams?
Just remember that, “This too shall pass” and take it one day at a time. I can relate, been there, done that.
Isn’t it ironic how many things that sound easy are anything but. I agree, one step at a time, even if the current steps are just you dragging your feet through mud. Keep dragging until the mud clears. Then the dreams and wishes will start coming again…
This was exactly what I needed to hear today. I’ve been so preoccupied lately that I haven’t even harvested my herbs in weeks. I need to take a better look at how I’ve been working and spending my free time. So I think this is the perfect time to do that! Thank you for posting this as it adds balance to my thinking. I hope you had a wonderful day! Blessed Litha!
Your fish look amazing! Congrats on the new addition to your pond… I’m sure they’ll love it. I hope you and your got plenty of sun and look forward to reading your next blog post
Thank you for you uplifting posts! They always make me smile. And I think want I want to start is to start smiling more. The harvest of such a thing will be amazing!
A comment on one of your ventures is, what is the new book you’ve started that you want to be finished with on Thanksgiving?? My curiosity is going wild!
Happy Summer Solstice to you and yours, Laurell.
Thanks for sharing! I really needed this! I want to finish my auto course by the end of the year and ace my exam! And write! But that has to take a bask seat to finishing the course and raising the kids….I still sneak some in, all in the timing lol
Your fish are beautiful! And I hope you and yours had a great summer solstice!
If, heavens forbid, something bad would happen to your fish, there used to be (I moved away from the city 5 years ago, but hopefully they’re still there!!) a pond supply store that sold EVERYTHING you could possibly need, from giant rocks and water treatment to fish and liners. We got my mom a few there and they were just gorgeous. It’s at the Chippewea/ Watson intersection, where one turns to the other, on the right side of Chippewea coming from Watson. The other cross street is Big Bend I believe. (Please remember these memories are a few years old, but I’m pretty sure I’m sending you to the right place!! If I can find the name or phone number, I’ll try to get them for you!) My mom also got some at The Lake that were much bigger at a much lower price. Of course, she had about half the drive you would to get back to the metro area, so she didn’t have to worry about them running out of air as much as you would. But I’m sure they (the fish people) know what they’re doing, and if you tell them how far you have to travel, they’ll have little problems accommodating you. I only know that she went to The Lake for those, but there’s a chance she may remember a general area or even the name of the place, if you’d need it. I’m hoping that since your site asks for an email address, you’re able to get mine from my post if you decide you want to know where either of those places are. Either way, good luck with your pond! I had a very small one while I lived in St Louis, and I loved sitting outside with breakfast, so that I could watch them go about their day. Even only a mile or so from the city limits of St Louis City, I was able to block out all the noise and just be peaceful for that little while before a hectic day in retail!!
I was unaware that you were in a poly relationship. My husband and I are swingers but , we gravitate to a select few couples. I don’t tell my family about either the pagan things i am interested in or the non-normal married life that we lead. We are happy with our chosen path and it makes life a lot more fun, making us better parents to our 12 year old boy. thank you for being open to your fans, it makes us realize that you are real and have good days and bad. I love your books.