Wayfare, you've got just what I need

 I'm glad we have summer holidays, and I had an enjoyable Fourth of July. 

On Monday, July 3, I went up to North Salt Lake's annual firework show. A few years ago, they started having food trucks before the fireworks, and in previous years, I have taken my niblings up to get food. But this year, they didn't want to. It's sad to see them getting older, and their interests are so different from mine. So I went up to the food trucks by myself, and then my family joined later. It really is fun to have a community gathering like that—and the best thing is there are no dogs! (My sister pointed out a man carrying a kitten with a collar. Like, how and why would you bring a kitten to a firework show?! I mean, I know kittens are irresistible, but wouldn't you worry they would run away?)

On the Fourth of July, I got up and began baking. I have long been intrigued by the idea of a flag cake, but I had never made one. So I found a recipe online that used sour cream, since we had sour cream in the fridge (and I'm certainly not going to use it for other purposes). It also had a cream cheese frosting. I was really pleased with the result.

My mom cut the strawberries, but otherwise I did everything myself

I also made pancakes so I could use a cherry topping I made, but the pancakes weren't as good as I usually make them, unfortunately.

After a cookout at my sister's house, I knew I couldn't let a holiday go to waste without a trail run, so I ran up North Canyon in the evening. I was surprised how deserted the trail was; I saw exactly four other people. 

Richardson's geraniums

sticky geraniums

thimbleberry blossoms

Utah sweetpea

Nootka rose

Wasatch penstemon

We had some fireworks from the grocery store, and my brother's visiting kids said they wanted to light them. So we went to my sister's house to light them (since they're illegal at our house), but the kids mostly stayed inside while I lit them. So I just lit them for my sister, mom, and grandma. I brought my little Bluetooth speaker so I could play my Fourth of July playlist, which now has 242 songs.

Then the holiday was over, but now it's the Pioneer Day season, which basically means we get twenty more days of the Fourth of July season in Utah. One thing I learned in my research of Pioneer Day is that in the early twentieth century, sunflowers and sagebrush were seen as symbols of Pioneer Day. There is some colonial baggage associated with that, but I nevertheless think we should embrace the sunflower for the Twenty-Fourth of July, and so I'm happy to see it in bloom at this time of year.

In someone's parking strip on my way back from pulling up goatheads

On Wild Rose Trail

Back in November, I volunteered to help with editing for Wayfare magazine, which is published by Faith Matters. At that time, I didn't know what my immediate future looked like, and I certainly wouldn't have expected to be in two jobs right now. But it is a beautiful magazine, and many of the articles have been a great boon to my soul. I feel lucky to be a part of it, even though I don't contribute content; I just edit it.

We are just about ready to publish issue 2, so there were a few events as part of that, but I only attended one. On Thursday, I drove down to Provo for a dinner with the editors. My general shyness, impostor syndrome, and a lifetime of shame and insecurities mean that I'm not super comfortable in situations like that. But it was good for me to be there, and the other people appreciated the dozen RubySnap cookies I brought. And the editor of Wayfare, who is also executive director of Faith Matters, gave me a notebook to thank me for my work, which matches the cover of issue 2. And then Saturday, he came by my house to give me a print copy of the magazine for me to edit before it officially goes to press. So I have my work cut out for me the next few days. (I was a little embarrassed to have him bring it to my house, since we had just returned from swimming.)

On Saturday I did another North Canyon run, and I was delighted to see a bunch of sego lilies up there. They're gone from the lower elevations, so it was a surprise to see so many. I especially love seeing them during the Pioneer Day season, since they're so iconic to Utah and its history. I did see some up there at this time of year in 2020, when I went up North Canyon almost every day, but they die out pretty fast, it seems. I don't remember another year with so many of them, at any elevation.

Here's some large columbine for good measure. I zoomed in on this picture, and I'm surprised it isn't grainy.

with or without shoe

It's going to be a busy week as I wrap up work on Wayfare and prepare for my niblings to leave. But someday I'll be able to relax again. (And by "relax," I mean keep busy. Just doing other things instead.)