All week I have been feeling the creep into full summer mode. We welcomed visitors to our home gallery and studio as the heat settled into the landscape. Our preparations will never be perfect, but our heart is in the right place. I tell visitors so many stories, about growing up in NYC, building the house, constructing the kiln, planting trees, and hosting our daughter’s wedding. Now, on this longest day of the year, we linger on the porch with our thoughts and memories drifting through the house.

June

summer creeps up the front steps
and while I could never be perfectly made
I feel my body drift through the house
like a bride
and for more than necessary
I am faultless
and beloved

—Kate Baer, from How About Now, Harper Perennial, coming November 2025