at the top of the year

 

Summer Solstice '23

today the hours of daylight are the longest of the year,

today, though, clouds and drizzle only allow variations of grey,

I get up to start to process the first bushel of summer transparency apples into sauce,

chopping them into quarters, 

removing stems and bits of discoloring at the stem ends,

simmering them for near 6 hours,

straining it all with the Foley Food Mill,

and sweetening it with a lot of sugar,

it's every year the finest applesauce I've ever tasted,

outside the garden has a mess of green beans,

plus the first Sungold cherry tomatoes,

some cucumbers, a plethora of squash blossoms,

and substantial blueberries,

my muscles and back still remember the hard hike of a few days back,

today we're at the top of the year

and we're heading down, toward the valley of winter,

every year has its cycles,

as does every life,

I just don't know where I am with mine,

I have been on top of the mountain,

I am now on top of the year,

I'm not sure where I am with my work life,

I work to teach with my life, to help others learn,

when is it time to stop doing that in school?

the day is winding down, and it's still cloudy grey,

the bluebird fledglings are about ready to leave the nest,

the Rose of Sharon is magnificent,

it's time to go pick some green beans,

I stand up to go pick the beans,

and the red-shouldered hawk glides before me,

pauses on the top of the bluebird house,

looks at me, and flies away northwest,

who knows if this is a message I should read?

by Henry H. Walker

June 21, ‘23