August
The Season Between
Have you noticed something in the air in the last few days, something that almost-but-not-quite feels like fall? It’s not just the back-to-school stuff everywhere or the Halloween hype getting its ridiculously early start…and it’s not just your imagination. It’s a season of its own!
As of August 1, the cross quarter day between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, we’ve shifted into the other side of summer. It’s a season between. The consumer culture wants us to skip over this time in anticipation of “sweater weather” and pumpkin spice lattes, but the earth calls us to slow down and notice the wonder of this particular moment in the year. In the color, vibrance and smell of a ripe tomato in the garden, the taste and abundance of peaches, peppers, beans and squash flowing in, the onset of those shimmery sounding insects, the cooler mornings arriving in mist—all of our senses are awakened.
From those days back in the spring with the mere glimpses of green sprouting up from the ground, we have arrived at this season of life literally spilling over everywhere— creeping, crawling, climbing, blooming—much to the delight of all the bees, butterflies, bugs and birds. Despite the lack of discipline, I have to remind myself that this is the point. I can let up on the planning, managing and coaxing. It’s time to enjoy.
Fall will come, but let late summer have her day.
Wishing everyone some SLOW in this special season.
~ Mary
🌔 Planting by the Moon | August 2026 Calendar
Join us as we follow the lunar cycles in our gardening this year. We’d love to know if you’re familiar with this method, if you’ve used it before and how it works for you!
Tune in to this fascinating conversation with Julie Brams — an earth-centered psychotherapist, certified forest therapy guide, meditation teacher, and the author of The Nature-Embedded Mind: How the Way We Think Can Heal Our Planet and Ourselves.
Jill Demers is the founder of ReWild Ranch in Montana, a one-of-a-kind regenerative farm, wellness destination, and educational space, rooted in the one question she's been asking for over two decades: Why are Americans so disconnected from their food — and at what cost? Part 2 of this conversation is coming soon!
From Mary: After I watched the new adaptation of Little House on the Prairie on Netflix, I was inspired to go back to the books. Reading them as an adult has given me much to think about regarding the westward expansion and our country’s homesteading movement, particularly since they are told from a child’s point of view. I’m now reading Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder, a biography by Caroline Fraser, to get a closer look at the grown up story. It’s an eye-opener, to say the least. I’m looking forward to exploring these topics more on The Good Dirt!
From Emma: Last weekend, on Saturday 8/8 (if you’re an astrology fan, you might know that this is a very auspicious day for manifestation), I accessed the portal of my own creativity and made up the best August summer dessert I’ve ever had. While I can’t claim that I’m the first person to ever do this (surely not, I hope), I am the first person I know of to do it, so I tasked myself with naming this concoction. None of the combinations of Lambrusco + float + cream were speaking to me, so I’ve landed on an Emma Palmer 😂👩🦰. An Emma Palmer is like an Arnold Palmer, but instead of iced tea and lemonade, it is Lambrusco & Vanilla Ice Cream.
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I’ve also started a new job this summer (I can’t wait to share more about it!), which means I all of a sudden have far more work responsibilities than I’ve ever had. As a freelancer who layers jobs, this means adding another dimension of my working reality (something I’m very used to), but it also means fighting a little harder to rest in the stillness and slowness of summer without getting whisked away. I’m grateful for my mom and this project we have together to keep coming back to—it keeps me grounded. And I’m grateful for your patience with the ebbs and flows here while we navigate everything. Lady Farmer continues to be such a gift to us, in whatever form she’s able to take.