I celebrated the solstice with a Walden Effect shower.  Here's how to play along at home.

(Yes, I know this is a bad idea, so don't sue me if you get struck by lightning.  But it sure is fun!)

First, move to a farm out in the middle of nowhere so you have no neighbors.

Now wait until a thunderstorm is getting ready to roll in.  Grab those strawberry transplants you pulled out of a bed earlier and head out into the garden with a trowel and bucket of water.  As the wind picks up, stick strawberry plants in the ground and wet them well --- every gardener knows that watering your garden is a sure-fire way to make it rain.

Once the skies open up, rush back to the porch.  Shed clothes and grab shampoo as water begins gushing off the roof and onto your head.

You might have to hop to the side a bit if a gust of rain moves your water supply.  It's always a good idea to egg on the storm at this point, too, and to tell it how good of a job it's doing (or to remind it that it can rain harder!)  Even your long-suffering husband won't hear your crazy hoots over the din of water hitting a metal roof.

If the rain stops before you're clean, hose off and head inside to listen as the thunder rolls away into the distance.  You should now be totally relaxed and ready to spend a blissful evening watching lightning bugs.

Since my mother would have a heart attack if I included any relevant photos, I've instead inserted shots of the summer garden before and after the storm.  We'll be eating summer squash, green beans, (caterpillar-nibbled) cabbage, and blackberries within the week, and are still enjoying Swiss chard, carrot thinnings, parsley, basil, thyme, cucumbers, red raspberries, and the last of the lettuce, snap peas, broccoli, and black raspberries.  The bounty doesn't quite feel like an overflowing summer feast yet, but it's getting close.

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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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