Summer is a coming in!

At long last we have sunshine and hot afternoons.  I was beginning to think I had no hope of my own organic Italian tomatoes and basil this year. My first crop of seedlings failed to thrive. The summer veggies are now finally planted. Some summer flowers are beginning to bloom. The creek view is now appropriately jungle like.

I knew summer would arrive sooner or later -  but this year I was beginning to be a bit impatient about the timing. It has been so cloudy and dark here  since last autumn with very brief sunny intervals. The temperatures were not unusually cold - but the dark days were dispiriting. And so many things did not want to bloom ( even the winter blooming plants in my greenhouse).  There was not enough sunlight.
  Is your life like this sometimes? So many dark, cloudy days with only brief sunny intervals? Mine certainly does. There are things that I wish to accomplish that seem to be taking forever. There are things that I wish would show up in my life that are a long time coming. I keep plugging away in expectation...

I am beginning to feel that I am learning how to wait and see what happens. Especially in situations when I have little no control ( most of them to a degree!). I can always make an effort to control how I respond to these situations. I am certainly capable of making myself more miserable by focusing on the downside. Been there, done that so many times! I am beginning to learn to see what the gift is when what I want is delayed. Sometimes I learn that I want something even better -and it usually arrives in its own good time. Most often I experience a lesson that helps me to grow.
 The dark, cloudy, rainy autumn, winter, and spring has resulted in an astonishing increase in the wildflowers this year. Everything has been late, but the flowering season for so many things has been much longer thanks to the brief sunny intervals which I have learned to really appreciate. I am still cutting small bouquets of rhododendrons!

Here is a Chinese dogwood in my secret garden.This year it is really lovely. It may be my imagination, but the flowers seem larger.

The pink honeysuckle has been a real treat for the hummingbirds (who also arrived late this year!). Maybe the hummingbirds understand patience and timing better than I do.

Last but not at all least, the radicchio Treviso  is 6 ft.tall and loaded with buds just beginning to become a lovely blue accent in the vegetable garden. The long, rainy, cold -but not too frozen- seasons were ideal for it to thrive. From autumn until early spring I had many, many salads from the baby leaves and then many more beautiful red and white striped mature heads which are delicious baked or steamed and then dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It usually blooms until time to sow next year's crop in August or September. I hope to have a whole summer of its lovely blue flowers.
How about you? Have you had some dispiriting days this year? Have there been any silver linings in the clouds for you yet?
 I would love to see your reflections and comments either here or send me an e-mail : colleen412@gmail.com  if you are shy about commenting here.
 Also please see my Pinterest boards https://www.pinterest.com/colleen2322/
I look forward to your thoughts. Thank you for stopping by!