Summer has finally come to the Pacific Northwest. It's sunny, humid and hot--for here. I'm sitting in the back garden writing this on the AlphaSmart in a shady little patio area we've created under a lovely weeping willow. I've finished hand watering the plants, hanging baskets, fruit trees and two large kitchen garden plots we've put in this year. All while I do my own plotting about this creative project or that novel. (Please note that the picture is not of my garden in Seattle, but one I shot of Monet's in Giverney, France in April. Sigh.)

Since the DH and I keep talking about that automatic irrigation system instead of actually putting one in, we hand water. It's time consuming, but very pleasant to do in the delicious early mornings and velvety sultry evenings. We're one of the few in the neighborhood who have an air conditioner on the house, so on the hottest days it's very coooool inside. However, we spend most of our time outside sitting, swinging, lounging here and there with a glass of wine in the evening and coffee in the mornings. My summer days turn into a sort of creative observation and cultivation ebb and flow in the garden. Everywhere I look there's something new to see like the Russian blue tomato plant with its crazy double stack mutant tomato, currently bright green.

This morning I noticed the fountain in the front bed was nearly bone dry. I turned the hose on it only to discover that, speaking of bones, something had left remnants of its KFC snack in our fountain--now cloudy, murky and oh so putrid. At a raucous squawk, I looked up at a crow sitting on the porch roof. The trickster cocked its head at me. "Yeah, I so lunched poolside, sue me," the wretch seemed to taunt. I don't claim to be able to communicate with animals but that crow's attitude was pretty clear. I filled the fountain again, now less cloudy but still contains bones of crow lunches past. Think I'll let the DH deal with that. Which may involve an air rifle or a tiny green apples launched from a slingshot. And all I want him to do is clean the fountain, but the DH is invariably a clean up the root cause first kind of guy.

Cultivating Creativity
There's something about keeping the body busy as when you're doing dishes, polishing the car, watering the garden, taking a shower or mowing the grass that creates a shift in consciousness. Your conscious mind is busy running the body, which allows your creative self or subconscious mind to whisper memories or thoughts that lead to creative ideas and solutions. Because we're so action or results oriented, we can't easily hear that still small voice within when we're in the thick of it, trying to get something done.

No matter what your deadline is or how much you have to do, you'll want to take a five minute break once an hour to breathe deeply and quiet your mind. Focus on your breath and direct your observation within, noticing how relaxed your body becomes. Your conscious mind is tricked into believing you're only deep breathing and relaxing to help the body keep performing well. But the creative you knows you're really taking this little respite to listen to the still small voice within. With conscious practice, you'll be able to drop into relaxation and inspiration immediately. When they say take time for yourself--this is what they mean. Take time to cultivate your creativity.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMelinda