My book club last month read Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner’s classic novel about the close friendship between two couples that spans 30-plus years. We had a lively discussion about what, exactly, the title of the novel means.
And while it didn’t come up at the time, I’ve since been struck by how perfectly the phrase “crossing to safety” captures the feeling of transitioning from our really hot summer to the more moderate weather of fall.
This growing season has been a doozy. May was cold and wet, wet, wet. June gave us not one but two wild hailstorms that left sections of the garden in tatters. July started out nicely enough but quickly cranked up the big heat – which lasted all the way through September. We did get some rain, but it came in large batches, only occasionally punctuating the long, hot, dry spells.
In a nutshell, it’s been tough.
But temperatures are finally moderating. We just received some much-needed rain. And despite the stresses of the past 5 months, a tour around the garden yesterday proved – yet again – Nature’s resilience and her ability to provide beauty even at the tail end of a hard growing season. It’s truly a wonderful gift.
