Hey there,
Who else has this dilemma: itās early morning, which means itās the coolest time of day to work on the garden. But it also means the mosquitoes are out in full force āĀ and I am a magnet for mosquitoes. Theyāre throwing off my groove in the garden and yet I hate spending the rest of the morning and afternoon itchy... Has anyone found a natural-ish mosquito repellant that actually works? Iām all ears.
In other news, Iāve got an upcoming deadline in a few weeks for a project that involves some light writing āĀ but still, writing āĀ so my newly-free-for-the-summer days will be spent headfirst in getting this baby in on time. And because Iāll be leading our trip to Italy in late July (psst: come on along!), I may bump my usual month-off-the-internet from all of July to mid-June through mid-July. All of this is to say: Iām thinking through my summer plans and nothing is yet set in stone. All I know is Iām pretty sure my body and brain more than are ready for some time in an innertube floating on a river. Bring it on.
5 Quick Things āļø
1.Ā ICYMI, earlier this week I shared the speech I gave at our high schoolās graduation last weekend, where I give 10 bits of advice Iād give my high-school graduating self āĀ in particular, to let the drunk Irishman sing āRhinestone Cowboyā to you on the train in Wales on your way to the ferryboat to Dublin.
2.Ā Iāve never seen the film he references (I want to now, though), but as a Joel Salatin and Wendell Berry fan, I appreciate this thoughtful essay on the conundrum of farming animals, even ethically: āWe ask much of our farmers and butchers, those who deal out death for us. They deserve our respect and compassion if ever they decide to put the knife away. We ask much of our fellow creatures as well. They deserve our compassion.ā
3. Iām super intrigued by olive oil ice cream⦠I think Iām gonna make it tonight (probably much to my childrenās chagrin).
4.Ā Iāve said it 8,372 times, but it remains true: as someone who grew up in a city and has lived in both tiny villages and skyrise-clad megacities, I love living in a small town. Love, love, love it. This long but thoughtful essay explores both the mythical positives and negatives of these places, particularly how theyāre portrayed in books and films.
5.Ā And finally, hereās a quick and āsimpleā life expectancy test. What would you score?
Currently Reading, Watching, Listening š
Word on Fireās new Liturgy of the Hours series (June ā22 is the first installment) ā I love it so far! Super easy yet quite grounding.
Quotable š¬
āIf you care too much about being praised, in the end you will not accomplish anything serious.ā
ā Leo TolstoyĀ #
Elsewhere (by someone else) š
Sage wisdom of the ages, right here:

Quick Links š
Question(s) For You to Ponder⦠š¤
In what specific way do you hope to have grown exactly one year from today?
Have a great weekend,
Tsh
p.s. An oldie but a goodie.
John Murdock's essay is so well-written and fascinating - thanks for sharing! As someone married to a strict vegetarian and is personally vegetarian about 95% of the time, I have wondered what the most truly loving (and holy) way might be of farming animals. It's such a complex area and I really appreciate Wendell Berry's approach.