Summer is by far my favorite time of year – somehow it makes everything feel more possible. Of course, summer also means busy season when you work in the wedding industry, and so I tend to spend it working overtime, last year to such a degree that I ended up feeling like I missed it completely. I’m thankful this summer that I get to work in a house with almost floor-to-ceiling windows, and a backyard that I can move to when I need to take a break. The smell of tomato leaves and hose water – together, the epitome of summer – will always be my favorite smells in the world, and right now the tiny tomato seedling I planted eight weeks ago is practically bursting out of it’s pot (it helps that I moved to the hottest, sunniest part of Oakland) and is covered in flowers and baby fruit. Plants are such a visual representation of time passing that it can sometimes shock me, and I’m working on letting them remind me to occasionally slow down.

And here’s the same plant today, in 2013 (it desperately needs to be repotted, but I’m waiting to do so until I move again this spring):

Time, man. It sneaks up on you.

note: while I’m not terrible at caring for plants, I’m not particularly amazing at it either – this thing is just unkillable. Also, forgive the photo quality, while I eventually found my camera after moving, I have yet to find its battery charger.