Things of Beauty #27
Bees knees, stuff to read, and salty grapefruit season
It's full-on summer here in the middle of the East Coast of the US. The uncharacteristically mild summer to date has morphed into what July in Virginia has felt like my whole life: hot and close— like what I imagine walking through a bowl of soup (or maybe cinnamon-y oatmeal) would feel like.
It's a good time of the year to linger over a good article, perhaps while replacing some fluids we lost in our soupy/oatmeal-y excursions outside.
Small joyful stuff to marvel about, read, and sip:
🐝 Bees have baskets*! Did you know? I definitely did not. I just learned from a family member who is SUPER knowledgeable about all things bees and butterflies and pollination, that bumblebees have little sacks on their legs that they carry pollen in. She even pointed one out to me, and I got to observe the phenomenon in real life. Amazing! Of course, I didn't take a picture, but the second picture on the page of this article is exactly what I saw. (*Note: they are actually referred to as "baskets" not "pockets" but tomato, tomahto.)
📚 Good reads — so many great articles coming across my desk recently (and by desk, I mean my phone, but desk sounds so much more poetic, right? As if I'm sitting and reading the Sunday paper with my feet kicked up instead of hunching over my phone at the kitchen counter while I eat breakfast):
- 📗 I adore this description of community from
over at :These are the webs through which brilliant ideas are shared. Through our beloveds we can raise barns and children. We can weather funerals and farmers markets and lonely Father’s Days.
Her whole article The Grief of Hyper-independence really resonated with me, as building community is something I think a lot about. She draws really poignant connections between community and joy and play as well as the risk involved in inviting others along on your journey. Here's to embracing a summer of play.
- 📕 Adam Grant on those email apologies I wrote about a while ago. While I don't agree with his disdain for the "just bumping this back up in your inbox" nudges (I do sometimes somewhat unintentionally exist in the top 10 of my inbox when I'm trying to focus on non-email related projects), I did appreciate his alternative suggestion. Also, a huge chorus of "amens" to this:
Delayed replies to emails, texts and calls are often symptoms of being overextended and overwhelmed. If the message isn’t time-sensitive, we should count delays in weeks or months, not days or hours.
- 📘Finally, huge thanks to reader Tyson for always sending the best articles my way. Like this one from Tressie McMillan Cottom about why it's important to do things we might not be sure we will "win" at sometimes.
This is why I experiment with living life outside of optimization. My job description has a version of not being the best at a few things but finding joy in doing things I am not very good at doing at all.
That’s why I sing.
I suck at it.
I love it.
Here is a secret. There is no singing authority. Those cops really are in your imagination and you can evict them at any time.
🥵 It's grapefruit LMNT season. This salty little electrolyte drink came on my radar a few years ago, and the grapefruit is hands down my favorite flavor. I've stocked up so I'll have some around when it goes away until next spring/summer. *Note: I love LMNT because it's just salt, potassium, and magnesium— not lots of other sometimes chemically things that show up in sports drinks, BUT it tastes like salt, so I'd be remiss not to say that if you're considering trying it, start with a trial pack (or if you're local to Richmond, VA- reach out, and I'll bring you a couple of packs, I'll even share some grapefruit).
What are you reading and sipping these days? Do you read somewhere other than your kitchen counter, please tell me about it so I can be inspired!
Be well, find tiny joy-
Mary-Chris
Oh gosh, lots of plain water and Gatorade at the barn (holy heck, it's hot!), the occasional Truly hard seltzer for after I hydrate, LOL!
Reading....."beach reads" but not on the beach....Nora Roberts, some nonfiction about conditioning horses for sport. And not usually at the kitchen counter, generally on the porch or in bed at night. :)