Harvesting Color

The marigolds finally steeping - sunlight gathering in the water bath.

All summer, I've been waiting for this. Each day I walked the garden, collected the blooms one by one, and left them to dry in baskets like small treasures. The plants themselves began as seeds pressed into the soil when the air was still cool, long before any flower had opened.

Now, with the baskets full and the harvest season here, the dye bath begins. The dried blooms steep in water, releasing the gold they have been holding all summer. Soon the wool will enter the bath, the fibers taking on the color of sunlight stored in petals.

If feels like the whole process - the planting, the tending, the drying, the waiting - has led to this one moment when the garden's work and my own meet. Color, like harvest, doesn't come all at once. It comes through seasons of care, patience, and the slow gathering of beauty until at last, it is ready to give.

Tomorrow, the wool will leave the dye bath, carrying the season's gold into its fibers. I'll share the finished color here - come back to see how the garden's sunlight has taken root in the wool.