Subject Change

I’m enjoying a book I found at the library book sale, Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher. Here are a few excerpts from the chapter, Building a Good Day.

Repetition gives us security while variation provides zest. We want a balance between regular habits that are deeply satisfying and spontaneity with its freshness and excitement. We want a good strong comfort zone and we want to be able to push ourselves outside it on a regular basis.

…

Contrasts heighten our sensory awareness.

…

“Subject Change” is a good phrase for thinking about contrasts. A day feels fresher if every now and then we can say, “Subject change,” and switch to doing something different. A vacation is a subject change and so is coming home. Working hard on a project, then stopping for a phone call, nap, or cup of coffee is a subject change.

As we move from one activity to another, we can find ways to focus on the transition, to create the conditions for being present and positive about whatever happens next.

By this way of thinking, my taking these early morning pictures serves as a regular habit that I find deeply satisfying.

And the QiGong class I took at the library was my switch to doing something new.

On the Art of Influence

My friend Cathy Sly is working her way through a project, 100 Days of Summer, where she takes a photo a day for this season. I’ve been following along and eagerly anticipating her daily posts. By coincidence, I took a few pictures on June 20th, summer solstice, and posted them here. And then I shared pictures from the farmer’s market yesterday, June 21st. And so it seems, I have been influenced by my friend. To take a picture-a-day this summer. This is not a thing that needs announcing. It is a thing to notice and embrace. Something so fragile as a glimmer of light.

Tea and Toast at Sunrise, June 2025

If I were to try to influence you, dear friend, I would begin in this way.

Do not wait to have tea and toast—as the sun rises and the heat of the is still at bay. This small ritual requires a special tea (a blend of bergamot, vanilla and lavender), a shiny red Bee House teapot, a vintage corning ware cherry mug. Fresh sourdough bread for the toast, soft butter, and blackberry jam. A little tray of some sort. A favorite book. A small light source—in this case an old camping lantern rescued from a leftover yard sale pile. All of these things may be substituted or replaced with whatever makes sense for you and your life. All that is required is that you place your hand to your heart and allow for rest.

No links provided. No need to spend any money at all.

Fruits and Vegetables

The familiar routines of summer are soothing. We get breakfast at Battlefield Country Store. Strong, fresh-brewed coffee with a BLT topped with a fried egg, cut in half. We talk with the deli manager about her kids and listen to her stories of balancing work and family.

The Farmer’s Market is busy even though we are early. The sun shines brightly but it isn’t too hot yet. We try to stick to our list. The sourdough bagels are already sold out. I think about how many pictures I have taken at our Farmer’s Market. You’d think I would be bored of taking the same pictures over and over, but I am not. Just the opposite. I am delighted all over again. The best pictures are often under the tables or behind the scenes on workbenches or tailgates.

I wear my baseball cap because my curly hair has rearranged itself into some form resembling abstract art. I make a mental note to get a haircut and accept that I do not care to spend my time styling my hair. I do want to spend time taking pictures of berries and cherries. I love that the vendors arrange the produce in such artful arrangements.

 

Summer Solstice

I have so many memories of this place. We got married here, at George Washington’s Birthplace, Wakefield, Virginia, 44 years ago. As kids we took school field trips to Wakefield where we learned our first versions of the history of our country. We spent summers combing the shore along the Potomac River searching for shark’s teeth. Picnicking. Exploring and hiking. Fishing and birding and looking for the river otters. It’s really an idyllic place and one that will always feel like home for me. And the start of summer.

The daylight lasts longer and the growing season begins in earnest. We stop by Garner’s Produce in Warsaw, Virginia and pick up corn and peaches. Even with the windows down the van smells sweet. We share a Nightingale peach ice cream sandwich and laugh the years away. We are not young and we know that our time on earth is finite. This gives us a sense of freedom. Like children having fun playing, we do not want to go home yet. We don’t want the fun to end. Not just yet.