Welcome July (Almanac 2024)

Sue Cartwright • 1 July 2024

Inspiration for things to enjoy in Nature at the height of the Summer Season

Welcome July (Almanac 2024) by Sue Cartwright, Spiral Leaf

The beginning of July resonates with the sights, smells and sounds of high Summer when flowers transform into tiny bulbs of luscious friuts and berries to begin the ripening process. It's a time to celebrate sunny days, warm nights and blue skies. It's the time when Nature beckons us to spend more time outside to enjoy the abundance of the Summer Season.

July is a time of plenty when the trees present branches full of leaves with deep green crowns set magnificently against clear blue skies. It's a time for haymaking when in the olden days whole communities were out working in the fields and when farmers were tending to and feeding farm animals with grass being sparce at this time of year.

July is full of the energy of the Buck Moon representing a time of growth, transformation and renewal. It's a metaphor for life as Bucks shed their antlers, making way for the new just as we have the opportunity to shed old patterns and beliefs to evolve and grow.

July is a time for village festivals such as the crowning of the Rose Queen during Wakes Week - a name adopted by factory owners as they closed down production for the Summer holidays. This was when teenage girls and young women dressed in white would dance in their villages with garlands of Roses and in their hair.

In Pagan times, July was the time to give thanks to Amaterasu, Solar Goddess and Sister of the Moon who brings love, compassion, warmth and light for all living souls on Earth.

Above all, July is the best time to enjoy Nature in all her glory accompanied by the soft coo of Wood Pigeons and birds of every kind flying to and fro raising and feeding their young broods. Mother Earth thrums with the drone of Butterflies, Bees, Bumblebees, Grasshoppers and Hoverflies as billions of insects live out their brief lives during the warmest season.

You can find gardening tips. vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts in season, and things to forage, in my Almanac for July (2023).

Poem for the month

Read or listen to my first poem - Welcome July - a celebration of Nature's 'opening up' as Spring comes into its own.

Recipe for the month

There is nothing more refreshing than Delicious Barley Water Lemonade on a sunny day with the added twist of infused Pearl Barley which is rich in fiber and is known to regulate cholesterol, blood sugar and insulin levels. Barley water also helps to slow stomach emptying, ease digestion and flush toxins which in turn keeps blood sugar stable and helps to control appetite.

Dates for Moon phases

New Buck Moon - Friday 5 July

Full Buck Moon - Friday 21 June

Times for Sunrise & Sunset (Devon)

First Dawn - 5.06 am

First Sunset - 9.31 pm

Last Dawn - 5.40 am

Last Sunset - 9.01 pm

Visual odyssey across continents

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Things to watch out for and do in Nature in July.

Dragonfly Spotting

As water levels drop in the heat of the Sun, the water becomes thick with algae and mud at the bottom of ponds becomes exposed. This is a good thing and best left to do its natural thing as rain showers top up the water enough to keep things alive and healthy.

These changing conditions are positive as many species lay their eggs in the exposed mud and Dragonflies and Damselflies mate on perches above the water. Others mate on the wing, lying linked together with their beautiful vibrant bodies bent towatds each to form a heart shape.

Watch out for Damselflies resting with their wings against their bodies and Dragonflies who rest with them spead out to take in the energy of the Sun. They are wonderful to watch as they dart and hover, snatching their prey from the air and reaching speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour.

Drying Flowers

Deadheading is a theraputic act that involves cutting off or snipping out spent flower blooms to encourage new ones to grow. While Roses certainly bloom again if you don't deadhead, they will rebloom quicker and more plentifully if you do. Deadheading not only helps to clean up a plant's appearance and shape, it also helps to control the spread of seeds, encouraging flowers and plants to continue to grow thicker and fuller than before.

Deadheading Roses is one of my favourite things and I never throw anything away. Some Roses I collect just after full bloom where I spread the petals, hips and leaves in a single layer on a flat surface in a well-ventilated area until they are dry. Alternatively, if they are Pink or Red Roses, I wash the petals and gentle simmer in filtered water for 5 minutes to make a refreshing herbal tea.

Fruit Picking

Fruit-picking is a fun and healthy way to enjoy time spent with family and friends in fields of the British Isles open to the public during the picking season. Pick-your-own fruit (and vegetable) farms in England offer everything from Strawberries, Rhubarb, Beetroot, Asparagus, Carrots, Pumpkins, Blackcurrents, Redcurrents and Raspberries.

The main picking season runs from mid to late June and finishes late July to early August and it's a fantastic activity for all the family. Picking your own fruit means you are in control of quality and can pick items which have fully ripened on the plant. This allows the natural sugars to develop, which improves the flavour. It also means you can buy fresh items for freezing ready to enjoy through the season or to make preserves in the Autumn.

I hope you find many ways to enjoy the height of the Summer Season in Nature, and look forward to seeing you here for my next Almanac on 1 August 2024.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf