132 Days Left - The Art of Revelling in the Gifts of Summer

Today, my compassionate act is (with apologies to those of you living in the southern hemisphere) to revel in the wonderful gifts that a warmer-than-usual summer is bringing to my part of the world. 

One of the definitions of "revel" in my dictionary is "to take intense satisfaction" and that's what I'm doing these days! 

The irony is that the word comes from the Latin rebellare meaning to rebel. In a sense, revelling in Nature's gifts these days is an act of rebellion —against the twin tyrannies of technology and narcissism.

I am revelling in Okanagan Valley cherries, the plumpest and sweetest I have ever tasted! Each one is two juicy bites' worth.

I am revelling in the early sweet corn, eaten on the back deck in the shade, with butter and salt. (Corn is the only thing I put butter and salt on, so this is a delicious indulgence.)

I am revelling in my late peas! The first I planted were eaten by rodents. The second peas I planted were roughed over by marauding deer. I finally ate my first peas today.

I am revelling in shade. As the planet heats up, I am appreciating the coolness provided by the trees around our home. I'm sure we'll be trading shady comfort for sunny growing space before too long.

I am revelling in the little tomatoes that are ripening in my one sunny spot. Any day now, I'll be popping my first tomato of the season, and it will be heaven on Earth.

I revelled last night in a giant thunderstorm that watered the garden and had me grinning with joy at my memories of jumping in puddles as a child.

I am revelling in warm summer nights. I grew up with sultry evenings in central Canada, but here on the west coast of Canada, we usually have to put a sweater on as soon as the sun even thinks about going down. This is quite new for us, and I recognize that it's probably not a good thing. (The reason the heat wave of 2003 killed so many people in Europe is that the temperature didn't go down at night to give people respite from the heat.)

So I am revelling because I don't want to be so caught up in the climate change fight that I forget to appreciate what it is I'm fighting for.

Thank you, Summer, for all your gifts.