If I suddenly disappear, don’t worry. I’m probably fine, just taking a break from blogging. What’s going on in the world is just so discouraging that I get tired of writing about what I am trying to think through. Actually, I’m tired of trying to think things through, too, tired of trying to find a way to make everything — anything — make sense. (Though how does one make sense of what in many cases is utterly senseless?) In fact, I was seriously considering this to be my last post for a while, but a friend left me a message “Do not give up!” And that made a big difference. So thank you.
Not that I really want to talk about “the issues,” it’s that they are on my mind. Normally, I can push those thoughts away with talk of my garden, but right now, there’s not even much to say about my yard, not many pictures to show. At this time of year, the weeds sprout ten times faster than I can pull them up. (I am prone at times to exaggeration for the sake of making a point, but the speed at which the weeds are sprouting is the literal truth. Spurge, the worst offender, sure is a scourge! It’s everywhere.) Also, the summer flowers are mostly gone and the fall blooms still weeks away. Well, except for the marigolds. This year, they are like weeds, having planted themselves in copious numbers, even crowding out plants I paid for. What I discovered is that whatever marigolds are supposed to do to keep bugs away, they don’t. In fact, there are more bugs in my self-planted marigold beds than there are in the rest of the yard.
Although I don’t really like marigolds, except for their ability to brighten dead spots in fall, the French marigold is different. The odor isn’t as strong, the petals aren’t as compact, and the color is brighter. As with the traditional marigolds, these also self-seeded. In fact, I have more of them this year than were planted last year. (I didn’t plant them specifically — they came in an assortment of orange wildflowers.)
I do have a single pumpkin growing. I used to see a lot of thumb-size babies, but they all disappeared. I don’t even know how that happened. Maybe the momma pumpkin absorbed them. It’s a good thing I only need one pumpkin! Even though the tomato plant is as big as a bush, it still hasn’t produced a single blossom, and though the cantaloupe is producing flowers, it’s not producing fruit.
Yep. A discouraging time all around. Though that’s nothing new. According to blogs I posted at this time in previous years, that discouragement seems to a sign of the times. I can’t even blame my malaise on the heat — we had a couple of days hinting of fall before the 100+ temperatures returned.
I’ll chalk up my discouragement to the midsummer blahs, and keep chugging along, even if I do give in to my inclination to stop blogging every day.
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One
Bertram's Blog 
August 7, 2026 at 11:18 am
All I can say is I trust in the Lord. Hopefully, if you believe, the second coming of Christ is on the way. How long will it take? I don’t know. I just try to keep the faith. God bless you.
August 7, 2026 at 1:15 pm
Keeping the faith is good. I envy you that.
August 8, 2026 at 9:15 am
Il realized as a child that I had SAD. However, even though I have more energy in the summer, not much is getting doine this year. I have weeds outside my fence the size of my trees. It is just too warm to go try to knock them down.
August 8, 2026 at 11:41 am
If those weeds are kochia, they do grow like trees. I’ve seen them as tall as houses. One year, they grew so tall and so fast in the alley I couldn’t get out of my garage. I waited until it finally rained, and then they pulled right up. I am still getting things done, but not much, and then it takes the whole day to recuperate.
August 8, 2026 at 9:16 am
Keep going on with what you know. You will be Okay. l really care about you. Be good to yourself. Most of the world won’t.
August 8, 2026 at 11:42 am
Thank you! That’s very nice of you to say. And I care about you. Funny that we’re in the same state again.
August 9, 2026 at 5:27 pm
Sometimes I believe that God just does this to keep us sane.
August 9, 2026 at 6:08 pm
Probably!
August 7, 2026 at 1:13 pm
I think the midsummer blahs are a real thing, just as winter’s SAD is. Humans tend to function cyclically, with lots of mountaintop and valley experiences interspersed with living on the level plain/plane of daily realities. That’s life.
But the world around us has indeed become a discouraging place. American politics boggle my mind — I can’t understand a population that would tolerate the actions of the current administration, let alone continue to endorse a man like DJT as president. He has affected Canada in many negative ways since his election, too, and as a result we have stepped back from our historic dependence upon the USA as a reliable and caring neighbour. It’s a sad situation, especially since it effects how I respond (or, more correctly, don’t respond) to friends who promote a more radical political viewpoint.
I lean on my faith, but also on the hope that the cycle will eventually bring things back toward a saner centre.
I hope you won’t give up on your blogging. It’s a valid communication to those of us out here in cyberspace who have come to know a bit about you and value your words. But I know I can’t maintain anything like daily blogging — goodness! I don’t even maintain weekly or monthly blogging consistently! — so would see benefit in reducing to a more manageable schedule if that would work better for you.
Take heart. Fall is coming and is my favourite season. The air is fresher; there is a blaze of new and different colours as garden growth slows to preparation for its winter hiatus. Have you read Katherine May’s WINTERING: THE POWER OF REST AND RETREAT IN DIFFICULT TIMES? It’s good!
Fondly,
C.
August 7, 2026 at 1:19 pm
I never considered that the midsummer blah is the inverse of the winter SAD. It makes sense that since I’m affected by one, I’d be affected by the other. That gives me hope if nothing else does!
My problem with blogging is that if I don’t do it every day, I don’t do it. So, I’ll keep plugging. Than you for the encouraging words.