Happy September! It's National Honey Month and time for September birthday celebrations. It's the birthday month for me and my husband of 38 years, both of us born on the same day! Many people call us "the Honeys" or Mr. and Mrs. Honey due to my nickname, Wild Honey, so we often marvel that our birthday month just happens to also be National Honey Month - very sweet! We are celebrating our birthday by moving into a new house - from the one we've lived in for 35 years! Wow, what a HUGE task it has been sorting through so many years of accumulations and possessions and packing everything up! We will not be completely moved in until October but we are excited to begin this next chaper of our lives. Fortunately we aren't going far - we will still be in the same zip code!
Also for my birthday I'm getting together with a few friends for a postcard writing party to encourage folks to get out and vote. We are calling ourselves "Wild Women for Harris" and the party will be at a Jamaican restaurant and will be "coconut" themed, of course -(we know we "didn't fall out of a coconut tree, but that we do indeed exist in the context of everything and everyone who came before us" (thank you, Kamala, for that fabulous fun quote). We received 200 free postcards from the organization, "Postcards to Swing States: A Progressive Turnout Project Initiative." We will be addressing the cards while sipping on our coconut flavored drinks and will mail the cards to identified potential voters in another state. It should be fun!
In writing news, I'm excited for my Southern Book Launch for "In the Grip of Grace" in Wise, VA on Saturday, October 19 at 11:00 AM at The Clapboard House. I'm looking forward to reading my poems in my beautiful birth state of Virginia and in my college town (University of Virginia at Wise). I'm so grateful to my college friend, Travis, for offering to let me read at his fabulous store! He sent these photos of himself holding a copy of the book, and a stunning photo of the store manager, Keller the Kitty! I am beyond excited to see Travis again and everyone in attendance and to meet Keller! Aren't Keller's little white socks so fashionable and adorable?! If you are by chance in the area of Southwest Virginia in October, I'd love to see you at the book launch party!
I'm so happy to have a summer birthday, although I was born very close to the fall equinox! I love summer! It is an especially beautiful time in the Pacific Northwest and we like to squeeze every ounce of fun and joy from it that we can. We have a long list of summer traditions that we like to observe. Below are photos of some of the things we enjoyed. I hope that you've had a wonderful summer as well and are ending the season with some good memories. I know there continues to be great suffering in the world, but alongside it, great beauty, lots of love and amazing grace. I trust that fall will bring us all peace.
Love,
Marianne (aka Wild Honey)
Kayaking on Lake Ballinger, Mountlake Terrace, WA
Summer isn't summer in Seattle without a ferry ride on the Salish Sea!
Beach bumming and whale watching on Whidbey Island....no whale sightings this summer, but orcas are often seen at this exact spot!
Invasive Himalayan blackberries love the Pacific Northwest climate and are everywhere! I always brave the briers to forage some for wild blackberry pie and to eat in my oatmeal.
A beautiful blackberry pie that my daughter made with the berries we picked...so yummy!
Gotta wrap up summer with a trip to the fair....still screaming after getting off this rickety roller coaster!
Why does corn on the cob taste extra good at the fair? Must be all that extra butter!
Shout out to the beekeepers and their sweet honeybees who are always at the fair!
One of my favorite animals at the fair...this is a gentle giant, a clydesdale horse appropriately named King....absolutely stunning!
And finally, a not-s0-fun activity ...loading two of these boxes took three of us 7 hours!! Here's a hint...if you ever have to do this, make sure all of your packing boxes are of uniform size...ours were not and it greatly complicated the process!
I love reading your blogs - keep on writing! And of course, the photos too. I'm always so impressed by how active you and Mr. Honey stay. Yay for Kamala and the postcard project! :-)
Best of luck on the exciting (and rather daunting) move. I'm so excited for you two and am here if you need any help or encouragement.
I wish I could attend your book reading in Virginia! It'll be quite the adventure, reading on your home turf. Pictures, or it didn't happen....lol.