Field Notes: June
Midsummer musings
Lessons learnt in June:
Always take your laptop with you on holiday. Especially if you are flying with Easyjet, so you are prepared for cancelled flights that leave you stranded in another country for two days, panicking about all the work you should be doing.
Always pack knitwear when travelling in the UK, even if the past month has been a blazing heatwave. Especially when camping.
Be realistic with what you can do in one day. Over estimate the time it takes to write, work, shoot, edit, and work on your house/garden. You can’t do everything at once.
June has been a much more hectic month than I would like. My slow living philosophy shot out of the window, particularly last week when a cancelled flight meant that I lost two days of work. I’ve been trying to catch up ever since, but sometimes things just have to give. I’m currently balancing work, my personal projects such as Substack, my blog, Instagram and another project that I’m itching to get stuck into, plus renovating two bedrooms in our house and attempting to do work in our garden. Not to mention the 5,000 photos I need to edit from recent shoots. There is currently so much going on in my head that I need to constantly be making lists to get me through the day without my head exploding.
This is my favourite time of year though, and despite how busy I suddenly am, I’m attempting to make the most of the long days with walks, swims and spending as much time as possible outdoors. The weather here has finally turned (those hot sunny days couldn’t go on forever) but I’m still planning on swimming at least every other day as it helps to calm me down and relieve stress when work is piling up.
THE FRENCH ALPS
Perhaps June seems to have flown by because I spent the middle of the month escaping reality while exploring the French Alps? I was also stuck there for two extra days thanks to a cancelled flight, which tore me between panicking about work and enjoying my extra time away.
I travelled to the Alps with my best friend, to visit our friends who live there with their family, nestled in a beautiful old house they are renovating in the hills overlooking Lac Leman. It was wonderful to see my friends so happy, living in such a beautiful place, and I now can’t wait for more adventures in the Alps, visiting them throughout the year to experience the different seasons.
Every day we fit in a swim in the lake, enjoying it’s crystal clear waters that were wonderful temperature for long swims. We also visited several local towns and villages, and headed up into the mountains for an overnight adventure staying in a refuge surrounded by the most incredible scenery. I’ll be sharing much more from this trip on my blog soon.
GARDEN UPDATE
I’m so glad I took this photo (below), as my new garden beds are flourishing, and it’s so nice to see the difference just a few weeks can make. My dahlias are now twice this size, big and bushy, and my kale is the best I’ve ever grown - I’ve started eating it this week and it’s delicious!
In all honesty, our garden feels slightly overwhelming at the moment, as there is still so much work to do with the project at the back/side of the house, at the same time as maintaining the existing beds. Hopefully next year will be much more manageable if we are just planting and growing, without having to worry about landscaping work.
We’ve had both successes and failures this past month, partially due to the extreme hot and dry weather we experienced throughout most of June. All of our onions and garlic sadly bolted, but we’ve managed to save some of the larger bulbs, which are currently drying out. My poppies are non-existent this year, and I gave up on my woody honeysuckle that was refusing to flower three years in. I’ve also decided to take down the clematis and jasmine that is looking rather pitiful either side of our front door - we’ll be adding large planters here next year for climbing roses.
The successes: my dahlias are (so far) happier than they’ve ever been and covered in buds; we’ve been consistently growing and eating lettuce all month; our beans are flourishing; my zinnias have germinated and I have dozens of little seedlings; and my new front beds are filled with flowers and greenery.
The rest of the summer is going to be all about looking after what we have, planting a pumpkin patch with the seedlings currently in the greenhouse, and adding more herbs to the planter by the front door. We’re putting the rest of the landscaping work on hold until autumn.
MONTHLY EDIT
Currently on my wishlist: a Deiji Studios linen shorts set in either rust or green (I’m forever trawling Vinted and eBay in search), Beyond Nine’s Mabel trousers in black linen (no, I’m not pregnant, I just love their designs and these seem like the perfect pair of classic black trousers) and a pair of Crocs for nipping out into the garden. As we’ve almost finished decorating our bedroom, I’m now keeping my eyes peeled for furniture and accessories for the room: vintage oil paintings, the perfect Mid-Century tallboy drawers and bureau, a rattan table lamp and pendant shades, and bedside reading lights.
Over on Instagram, I’m finding travel inspiration for a slower way of seeing the world from @the.travel.project, @theseptemberchronicles, @traveltwo_, @_lagiuditta, @leantimms and @txdjls.
WHAT I’M WRITING ABOUT IN JULY
Here’s what I am planning on writing about for my paid subscribers this month: a full tour of my book shelves, my tips for how I find time to read so many books, slow living inspiration for the summer months, and my photography tips for capturing flowers and nature.