.......the morning after

Yogis,

According to legend, the month July was named after Julius Caesar and was given 31 days. When Augustus Caesar later ruled the Roman Empire, he wanted the following month named after him, giving us August. Of course, he wanted it to also have 31 days. The story goes that those two extra days were taken from February, leaving it with only 28 days.

For me, these two months are clearly delineated each year by my last week of July beach tradition.

As I leave home we are in the thick of July with its blazing sun, hard as rock dirt, summer picnics and parades. Dense heavy trees offer shade and the boisterous singing of the birds fills the air. Tomatoes are all getting their orange tinge and the blooms of the flowers span nearly every color in the rainbow. July is like the big party bash…..the full moon…..the apex. What we all have waited for since those dreary dark days of the thankfully shortened February.

Upon my return I can’t help but notice the shift. August reminds me of the morning after the party. Arriving on the other side. The funny thing is I love them both…..for different reasons.

When I studied with Susun Weed several years ago it was early August and she noted how our calendar may mark autumn’s beginning as September 21, but nature knows that August 1^st is the true turn. I watch year after year, and she is absolutely right.

Within a week of my return I know without fail that there will be falling leaves and they don’t disappoint. If you gaze closely through the trees you can see a bit more as the leaves have already begun to draw back some of their fullness. Yellow will begin to dot the landscape both in the trees and the garden.

August flowers still bloom gloriously, but often on stalks that have begun to yellow. The mint seems lazier and the basil a little leggy. The bustling yellow birdhouse which held its third wren family as I left, sits vacated and eerily silent on my return and will remain so until spring. Nature and life have suddenly become a little slower and quieter.

I always take a trip to the garden nursery for a couple perennials when I get back. Where the rush of July required attendants to manage the chaotic parking lot, I now can stroll leisurely through the aisles with only a few other customers. Plants clustered together on fewer tables, all 30% off. Many remind me of the abandoned dogs in a shelter, staring at me sadly, hoping they might finally be chosen and make it into a cart.

Heaven forbid you want to buy a bathing suit in August!! Those aisles are now lined with school supplies. The shorts and tshirts have been picked over and replaced by sweaters. Calendars are pulled out to enter the fall activities. Why are we so driven to rush these rare slow days when life already speeds by so quickly?

Once again, I am running in the dark. A hint of crisp air brushing my skin as I step out the door. Spiders webs catching my hair as I hike. The tomatoes starting now, not necessarily destined to make it to the table. And of course…..a visit to the county fair.

I could go on and on……. In fact I did for the two hour Yin workshop last week. But I will leave you with this. August is exactly as it is supposed to be. August is plenty. I love August.

Sleeping under the quiet August moon,
SARAH