Late Summer

Late Summer is considered a season by many of the locals here in Western Massachusetts. Since I moved here over 25 years ago, I’ve come to see that it really is such. Even before I moved here, there was something special about the month of August. In my memories it signifies the promise of the best the garden has to offer, but also the coming end of the gardening season. August brings hot days but also cooler nights. Our county fair was always the high point of the summer but it also signaled the end of summer vacation and the coming fall.

In the studio we are hopping to make our garden variety pieces. These are the things that fall into the category of NOT: Not maple, not fern, not grass with Japanese maple. They are the designs we create with the leaves that are available in the moment--not the ones we collect and freeze for use in the botanically barren (but oh so cozy) winter months. We’re also gearing up for show season and will be collecting and freezing those leaves I just mentioned. Visit our Shows and Events page to see what we have coming up in August. It includes a working Open Studio (Saturday, August 11) with an invitation to learn about some chances to make plates with us.

My son will be turning 10 this year, and one conversational topic he frequently brings up is “favorites.” “What’s your favorite….” I always have a hard time with that. I tend toward the Pete Townsend song, “I Like Every Minute of the Day.” I never have been good at choosing a favorite season or color…or really anything (which also makes answering password security questions rather difficult). I can honestly say, however, that Late Summer is one of my favorite seasons.