Letters from Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary

Sunny heat and high humidity are great for daylilies - not so much for people or other animals. Stay safe - drink lots of water and find a cool, shady spot!

 In case you've wondered, catnip or catmint is very easy to grow! In fact, it almost took over one area of our yard until Mariette the chicken discovered it. Apparently, chickens love catnip as much as cats do although I didn't notice any cat-like behavior. The bees definitely love the catnip flowers! And I suspect I might have to try it for tea . . . we'll see!

Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary proudly joins the celebration of Juneteenth! [Alas, in this very rainy day, the red of the flag appears more of a magenta color - but it really is red!] Read more about the real Juneteenth flag below. In 1997, more than two centuries after Betsy Ross is said to have sewn the first American flag, Ben Haith, founder of the National Juneteenth Celebration Foundation, developed a new American flag. The activist, also known as Boston Ben, led a team of collaborators who created the design concept for the flag as a reflection of the Juneteenth slogan “a new freedom, a new people, a new star.” As Haith’s foundation puts it, the design represents “a star of Texas bursting with new freedom throughout the land” and rising over a new horizon.   The paragraph above and those below are taken from a Reader's Digest article by Sheena Foster, updated on May 11, 2026,  Here's What the Colors and Symbols of the Juneteenth flag mean : A quick glance at the June...

 This little bee reminded me of the "procession out" hymn at Christ Church Cathedral (Houston) last Sunday - hymn 541, words by Jane Laurie Borthwick, now in the public domain. The last verse says: Come, labor on. No time for rest, till glows the western sky, till the long shadows o'er our pathway lie, and a glad sound comes with the setting sun, "Servants, well done." [Those reading this who knew Canon West may remember that he once said this hymn made him tired . . . but I rather like it! Hoping, when the time comes, we will indeed hear those words!]

Hot sunny days here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland can definitely bring sunburn and bug bites - in fact, that's a guarantee! Our horses are now fashionably dressed in lightweight, cool, fly sheets that also protect them from the sun. We got these sheets in 2025 at a big end-of-summer sale . . . hoping they will protect our horses all through the Summer of 2026! [Cindy Tawes took these photos.]  

 Two little wrens waited impatiently for mom and dad to feed them - the babies are already the same size as the adults and for a while it was difficult to tell who was feeding and who was being fed! The parent birds searched the ground and even the flowerpots looking for bugs for the babies.

These Easter lilies, originally at St. Andrew's in Princess Anne, for Easter 2025, are just starting to bloom for 2026 - a reminder that the Resurrection is always!  

 This year is going quickly - it's hard to believe that we've already reached the first Friday of June! Some children are already out of school, and my adopted "grandchildren" have only one week of school left before summer vacation. Early this morning two wild turkeys were searching for bugs in the horse pasture - I'm pretty sure that's a great place to search - but before I could take a photo, they were gone. And so here are the horses Imagine and Willow instead! And the first Rose of Sharon bloom, right near the door - all's right with my world!  I hope you are having a wonderful day, too!