It’s raining again today and I’m not sure our tomato plants are going to be able to survive. I can’t cut any more diseased leaves off because if I do there won’t be any plants left. I’ve invested at least an hour a day in them since May so it feels like a personal loss. I’m losing hope of ever having my favorite homegrown tomato sandwiches this summer. Yesterday, however, we had a day of sunshine.

Wayne and I went for a drive to visit some special places including a secret garden. Although I was surrounded by beauty I couldn’t shake off a deep melancholy that had set in. I felt powerless. Finally I stopped fighting it and let myself feel sad. It was then that I saw a chipmunk dart across my path and I went over to where it led me. It was a little patch of fairyland!

First I noticed the bees…

Then the butterflies…(or is this beauty a moth?)

A hummingbird!!! And then what I’ve been wanting to see in real life but never had until then…

A hummingbird moth! I posted a little video of it on Instagram which you can watch here. They are very fairy-like to me, I love them.

The hummingbird, hummingbird moths (there were at least two), bees and butterflies circled around me as they pollinated the patch of Bee Balm. I felt like I was a part of this little magical festival. All the sadness and heaviness I had been feeling was instantly lifted. Wayne came over and saw that the change in me and we watched them together.

Once again I feel deep gratitude for a chipmunk that led me to a brighter place in my head and heart, and these wonderful pollinators upon whom we all depend.