Midsummer Under the Hawthorn Tree

Happy Midsummer! The days are long, the entire countryside is verdant, and the air is heady with the scent of elderflower. Today we'll walk the dog between breaks in work and maybe this evening we'll collect some elderflower for cordial (although I know mornings are the best time to collect the flowers I can never be bothered in the morning!). It's a quiet, but still lovely Monday. Sometimes when I think about my life I do feel a bit lonely and trapped in my tiny village. There's nothing for entertainment as we are too small for a theater, library, or even restaurant; takeaways won't deliver to my address and sometimes the mail gets delivered to the village store instead of to my front door. Some people seem to think I have a life of wealth and leisure because I romanticize the nature around me, but really nature is about all I do have access to, so when I moved here I learned to make the most of it. The first year was the hardest; that year I felt quite a bit of cabin fever and restlessness, it felt like there was nothing to do and going anywhere outside the village required a car and took some time. But as I learned to accept the rhythms of nature life got easier and lovelier. I didn't move here because I loved this region or being so close to the wild, but rather I learned to love these things since I moved here. Every year I seem to learn a few more of the plants and animals near me. I get better at recognizing native species and more bold in my foraging. Even my flower crowns have become more skilled as I made more--and all of these activities have cost me nothing and most of the places I wander are within walking distance of my home; like this patch of cow parsley and hawthorn on the edge of field. 

Romanticizing your life isn't about having the perfect life, or having access to everything you want, but rather learning to appreciate what you have and learning to make the most of it. I really see romanticization as synonymous with appreciation. Appreciating the good things you have instead of focusing on what you don't. If I focused on all the things I can't do and don't have access to because I don't live in a city like my many of my friends I could easily become frustrated with my situation. But as I walk my dog I learn to appreciate what I do have, to study the subtle changes between seasons and learn what I can about the nature and region around me. It is Midsummer and I'm making flower crowns and collecting elderflower and reading about the different folk beliefs surrounding elder trees and fairies. Beside the patches of cow parsley another white flower has emerged and I'm trying to tell if it is poison hemlock or Queen Anne's lace. It's easy sometimes to look at someone else's life or merely their pictures and assume they have everything going for them, especially when they express joy or contentment in their situation. But I have found that the happiest people aren't the ones with the most, but the ones who have enough and know how valuable that is. There's some things about my life I would change and things about my old life I miss, but ultimately if you asked me how I was today I would say I'm very content. I love this little village and these quiet days close to nature.