climate change & church Street

For most of today, the outdoors was painted in a yellow haze of wildfire smoke blown down from Canada. It was eerie. Apocalyptic.

I skipped out of work early to go for a drive. The initial purpose was to look at a condo in Hinesburg even though I knew I didn’t want it because it’s too far away from the things and people I love. But I think what I really needed was to drive fast, if only for a few minutes on Interstate 89. There’s been a little flutter of anxiety in my belly all day and accelerating down the highway felt like a bit of a release. And as I turned off and started driving down the winding country roads, I was able to pinpoint the source of my anxiety—it was the weather.

For the past 24 hours I’ve been seeing reports of possible tornadoes and/or winds up to 75 mph and even egg-size hail. (I had no idea hail got that big.) How would my gardens survive these catastrophic events? What could I do other than stake and tie-back my flowers with string and 4-foot pieces of wood? Why am I going through this again? Just four days ago was the double anniversary of losing my gardens to floods—all of those carefully tended plants under more than three feet of water on July 10, 2023, and July 10, 2024. (Click here to listen to a story on Vermont Public about the floods and my collective garden.) I stopped at my gardens on the way home from Hinesburg and picked the few flowers that had bloomed. I’ve been here before, I thought as I walked from my car, harvesting as many flowers as I could not knowing what would be left when I returned.

Here is the bouquet I picked and here’s hoping there’s more to come.

On a brighter note, I dropped off my first wholesale card order at Homeport on Church Street. Hooray! It feels extra special to have my work on Church Street, since it’s the focal point of this sweet little city I live in and love. I’m excited about this opportunity and am encouraging everyone who is reading this to visit Homeport and buy one of my cards. This will help ensure that Betty, the greeting card buyer, will keep buying my cards, which will help me keep me creating and in my studio at The Soda Plant.

Speaking of The Soda Plant, this Sunday, July 19, is the second Soda Plant Sunday on the 2026 season. I’ll be in my studio in SPACE Gallery from 10-2—stop by and say “Hi!” There will be plenty of vendors and activities in and around the building.

Also, save the dates! Art Hop is coming to Burlington’s South End arts district September 11, 12, and 13! I will be camped out in my studio all weekend. (Last year, I spent 27 hours total in my studio Art Hop weekend—insane! And I spent weeks recovering.) Art Hop is one of the highest grossing events for Burlington artists all year, so please show up to support us. Many artists like me are self-employed and juggle several part-time gigs. This year has been tough for us with rising costs and economic uncertainty. And many of our healthcare costs have risen jaw-dropping amounts. (My monthly health insurance premiums went from $68 to $824.) Please plan on showing us some love—we will love you for it!

Thanks for reading and sending lots of love and appreciation your way!