Summer in a jam jar

How we hold onto summer

The ladybug and the cactus

All creatures need to capture a bit of summer and hold onto it during cold winter days. This morning I remembered to water a long-dry and unattractive cactus plant. On it I found a little ladybug, or some cousin of hers, perched on a hidden cactus tip. She looked a bit drunk, so perhaps it is true that a cactus holds water, even in my house, long after it has last been given to drink.

The family and the raspberry jam

We capture summer by picking raspberries like mad in July, turning them into what I think is the world's best jam, then eating it all winter long. I like it best when the winter sun suddenly rises above the mountains and streams onto my table, lighting the berries the way it did early on July mornings.