The weather in May and June has been quite confusing. The unusually warm early months of 2024 had me convinced that we would have an early arrival of summer with the chance to enjoy time outdoors. Silly me – we live in Minnesota!
We had an early start to the perennials growing, and I was looking for early blooms. However, we have only harvested two lilies in mid-June, and no action on the rest in our gardens yet. I planned to share some flowers with our neighbors by now, but I will do that as they bloom.
However, the stormy weather in June has presented me with a community kindness opportunity. The strong winds have been clipping small branches from the neighbor’s tree, and the landing place has been in the street or along our sidewalk. Since I am already the registered “adopter” for the storm drain in front of our house, I work to keep as much plant debris as possible from getting into the drain, as this debris decomposes in Shingle Creek and affects the water (and water plant and animal life) downstream.
The actions that I take as one of the many drain adopters in Minneapolis is not a significant amount of time in my life. Still, I truly enjoy knowing that I am contributing in a small way to the combined work of many people for our eco-system. So how can you find ways to contribute to your community without getting committed to a firm schedule or an overwhelming task load?
- Open a door for a fellow shopper or church attender.
- Walk next door if you see the neighbor fighting with those paper lawn bags that are large enough for three rakes, two brooms, and a crop of grass clippings (but not sturdy enough to survive standing outside overnight).
- Chase the squirrels away from flower pots (as I haven’t been able to catch them yet).
- Compliment your boss, or spouse, or neighbor, or anyone who could use a smile.
You may never see the results of your community kindness, but the great thing is that you can feel good about trying — and after all, you are part of our community too. Have a great summer!