The Tao of June #phenology

Did you, early this morning in the clear skies, see Mars and Saturn sharing the sky with the moon? Later in the day, from sun up to mid day, yellow goat's beard has started to flower.

goat's beard in bloom

Photo by J. Harrington

There are patches of birds-foot trefoil blooming along the road side.

birds-foot trefoil (invasive)

Photo by J. Harrington

Hoary puccoon clusters continue in bloom out in the fields but no sign yet of any vetch (purple).

hoary puccoon

Photo by J. Harrington

Recent nights have been close to perfect sleeping temperatures. The daytime breezes have been a bit strong for ideal fly-fishing conditions, but, all-in-all, June is starting to assume more of a "Mellow Yellow" patina. Come July, maybe we'll be looking at more of a "Sunshine Superman" luster. From now until then, we're going to enjoy as much of the mellowness in these days as we can. We may even begin to flow with the Tao enough to put politics in its place instead of letting it dominate our life these days! We have a copy of Ursula Le Guin's rendition of Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching that's been read but once. Time to reread it during these rare June days.

What Is So Rare As A Day in June 

James Russell Lowell

AND what is so rare as a day in June?

Then, if ever, come perfect days;

Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,

And over it softly her warm ear lays;

Whether we look, or whether we listen,

We hear life murmur, or see it glisten;

Every clod feels a stir of might,

An instinct within it that reaches and towers,

And, groping blindly above it for light,

Climbs to a soul in grass and flowers;

The flush of life may well be seen

Thrilling back over hills and valleys;

The cowslip startles in meadows green,

The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice,

And there's never a leaf nor a blade too mean

To be some happy creature's palace;

The little bird sits at his door in the sun,

Atilt like a blossom among the leaves,

And lets his illumined being o'errun

With the deluge of summer it receives;

His mate feels the eggs beneath her wings,

And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings;

He sings to the wide world, and she to her nest,-

In the nice ear of Nature which song is the best?




Now is the high-tide of the year,

And whatever of life hath ebbed away

Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,

Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;

Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,

We are happy now because God wills it;

No matter how barren the past may have been,

'Tis enough for us now that the leaves are green;

We sit in the warm shade and feel right well

How the sap creeps up and the blossoms swell;

We may shut our eyes but we cannot help knowing

That skies are clear and grass is growing;

The breeze comes whispering in our ear,

That dandelions are blossoming near,

That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing,

That the river is bluer than the sky,

That the robin is plastering his house hard by;

And if the breeze kept the good news back,

For our couriers we should not lack;

We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing,-

And hark! How clear bold chanticleer,

Warmed with the new wine of the year,

Tells all in his lusty crowing!




Joy comes, grief goes, we know not how;

Everything is happy now,

Everything is upward striving;

'Tis as easy now for the heart to be true

As for grass to be green or skies to be blue,-

'Tis for the natural way of living:

Who knows whither the clouds have fled?

In the unscarred heaven they leave not wake,

And the eyes forget the tears they have shed,

The heart forgets its sorrow and ache;

The soul partakes the season's youth,

And the sulphurous rifts of passion and woe

Lie deep 'neath a silence pure and smooth,

Like burnt-out craters healed with snow.

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