Fashion for everyone

June is the month that I always think of as a kind of in between month - spring has sprung and summer is more of a July and August moment. If I thought of June as a colour it would be green. The heat has not reached those high scorching temperatures that wither and tire a garden; the grass is lush and the trees are still flush with new growth. 

So what about June, other than it falls after May and before July? June is my month to prepare, to plan and to organize for the summer. May and I am still enchanted by the blossoms, too focused on enjoying the aftermath of a long, cold winter; June and I am starting to take the beauty of my surroundings for granted - the roses are past their first flush, the irises are all but finished and the lavender is yet to bloom. When I walk around the farm my eyes are opened to what needs to be done and I become impatient to have everything ready for summer. June is my ticking clock, my countdown time before we melt into the lazy days of summer.

June is my last chance to get anything fixed or changed before September; it is my time to prepare the house for guests and to make sure any farm issues are resolved. In southern France life gears up for July and August and even though our farm is home we always think of summer as a holiday period. Of course the world still turns but here jobs are definitely categorized as 'before' or 'after' the summer. Technically July is a working month, but to wrestle down a tradesman to start a new project or even to repair an existing problem is no easy task....forget August, the whole nation is en vacance. I do have my 'secret squirrel' numbers to use as a last resort (those magical '06' mobile numbers cajoled from unwilling electricians, plumbers and whoever else I could persuade) but these are for my vrai emergencies. So this month, right now, I need to look into my crystal ball, identify any looming disasters and get on with the job. Failing that I need to pray like mad that nothing too essential will crash in the next couple of months. 

June - a month of hard work; July and August, the slow down months. Experience tells me if it breaks or it's not working I can and will learn to live with it.... and there is something very liberating about that. xv