Natural August bouquets to feast my eyes on when the weather isn't playing ball

Aug 18

Aug 18 Natural August bouquets to feast my eyes on when the weather isn't playing ball

17 August 2020:

I was born in the month of August, according to the Gregorian or Christian calendar that most of the world uses. We all know that there are other understandings of time amongst different peoples, and therefore other calendars, such as those of the Chinese and Persian traditions.

I’m on a journey of exploration to gain a fuller understanding of my Yoruba culture. I recently learned that August is the month of Ogun, the God of Iron, in the Yoruba calendar, called the Kọ́jọ́da. The Kọ́jọ́da has a 4-day week and 91 weeks in a year. The Yoruba year on 3 June of a Gregorian calendar and ends on 2 June the following year. I’m not quite sure how old I am by the traditional Yoruba calculation — I simply don’t know enough yet! For now, I’ll settle with the understanding that I have gained a Gregorian year this month.

I went to my allotment for the first time in a few days yesterday. The weather in London had been extremely dull and wet since our summer heatwave ended early last week. In addition to gaining a year, I have also gained some lovely blooms on my plot. Dahlias, Zinnias, Begonias, Bacopa, Sunflowers, Campsis and Sweet Peas, to name just a few!! And, of course a second flush of roses for the summer. Lots of colourful, natural birthday bouquets! As usual, I didn’t pick any flowers, but I spent a long time smiling from bloom to bloom, and took a few pictures of my live birthday flowers.

I stopped by my Albizia julibrissin tree and marvelled at the pretty pink flower puffs that covered it. I lost a tree last winter so I am relieved that this specimen is still thriving.

2020-08-08 14.01.13.jpg — *My beloved Albizia tree!*

We’ve had a dry morning so far today, and the odd glint of sun. We’ve also had a lot of big lightening strikes and loud thunder. Sounds as if the action is fairly far away though. There seems to be a real battle in the heavens! It still has started raining yet, but the clouds are thickening, and rain is forecast …

I’m terrified of lightening and thunder so I’ll stay in today. A throwback to the terrible hurricanes that I’d experienced in my childhood when my family lived in Jamaica. Nightmares of battened down windows, candles, lamps and torchlights at the ready, and stories of livestock tethered to trees being struck and killed by lightening still haunt me. ‘Make sure you wear shoes with rubber soles!’ rings in my ears, a common precaution that is said to prevent the conduction of lightening through the wearer. I’m pretty tough allotment folk, and I’m happy to work away in the rain most of the time. But not when there is lightening and thunder. I begin to worry about the metal capped boots I’m wearing. And the metal parts of the shed and greenhouse that I might take shelter in … Hell! There are metal spikes in my umbrella! Drop the metal fork (for me, that means at the table and on my allotment plot)! Rational or irrational, it all becomes too much at some point. I go into meltdown. Talk about panic stations! Lightening strikes have caused devastating wildfires in California this year. So I’m stay in.

2020-08-17+13.16.49.jpg — *The afternoon sky …*

17 August 2020

But wait! The skies are turning blue (ok, blue-ish) again … and there a a few white clouds … A walk would do me good on this day. But no, a flash followed by another rumble of thunder! What’s going on? It’s still not raining. That’s it, I’m really staying in today. And I’m closing my blinds too.