the turn of summer

one of the GRANATA outtakes

The tenor of summer always seems to shift after the 4th of July somehow. It's not really weather or the light changes that start to creep in mid-August, or even the back-to-school rhythms that always feel like the're pulsing underneath the middle months. It's more like a mood or a vibe or some intangible thing. I spent yesterday at a barbecue full of actors, some familiar, some new. There were bratwursts and deli potato salad and J's delicious peach prosecco concoction I drank a bit too much of and then switched to White Claws all night, which left me slightly buzzed and way too hot. As such we spent a good amount of time in the shade of the garage with a giant fan, where he had the karaoke set up, though only a few people joined, most langoring about various lawn furniture once the patio was shaded or hiding in the kitchen's A/C. 

It cooled a little after the sun set and the sky above the neighborhoods surrounding Midway Airport were lit up with constant fireworks for several hours--more than I've ever seen on the north side, shooting off from every little carefully fenced yard. It was beautiful, but also terrifying should things go amiss. At family celebrations, the illegal fireworks were always set off in a field far away, and yet here, every backyard on the block had dazzling displays going off right overhead. My mom was always worried the boxes of fireworks my cousins carried across the Wisconsin border would draw the cops. Here, you wouldn't be able to fine anyone--there wouldn't be enought time or citations to write everyone up for doing the same thing. We even saw a few going home, well after midnight, as we approached downtown for the journey home. 

Today, I worked on a baking article and tended to the freelance stuff I abandoned last Friday. The weather cooled slightly through the day, and tonight, mild storms are moving over as I write. I am excited to get back to some collages after dinner I've been working on for the Persephone project, now that those pieces are edited and feel more like a thing I have a handle on now (rather than the snarled mass of work they've been for the past year.) I'll be sharing some bits I squirreled away and didn't submit to journals, as well as the collages as I finish them, so keep an eye out on instagram for those. 

I am also looking forward to finishing off my forearm with some added bits next Tuesday. I thought I might have to wait, but the artist had an opening and I had a little extra funds left over when the last was less expensive than expected, so I figure I might as well go for it. Especially since I have some other botanical things I have an eye on for other locations in the next year or so.