Spring-Summer Update (2025)

We've just over halfway through the year, so it's time for my 2nd quarterly update (spring-summer) of 2025! You can see my winter-spring update here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/winter-spring-update-2025-easter-baking.html

 

Easter was later this year (Easter Sunday was 20th April). I made a Birdies Perch Malteser slice with Cadbury's mini eggs on top and also got a couple of chocolate eggs, lol. I didn't have a big meal this year due to personal circumstances.  

At the beginning of May I celebrated Beltane. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/05/beltane-2025.html  

In mid-May I went to the park. As I mentioned in my May Gratitude List on on my self-help/spiritual blog Falling Petals (I post monthly gratitude lists there), I was feeling down and wanted to do something to feel better. After I read an email from Diana of The Chic Life about making a Joy List and doing what brings you joy, I decided I'd like to go to the park around sunset. I also went to Burger King and got a double bacon cheeseburger, latte and a Coke.

I shared a picture in my Gratitude List post but here are a couple more photos: 

View from by Hove Park.

Sunset in the park. 

It's interesting to see the comparison with the first photo and a similar one I took in March, which I shared in my winter-spring update.

Then in mid-late June, I celebrated Litha/the Summer Solstice. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/06/litha-2025.html

 

As I mentioned in my last update, I'm not currently going on regular park walks but I've been going occasionally, mainly for sabbats. I've also been going to Happy Café (Action for Happiness' Meetup events regularly).

I baked black bean brownie bites in June, using a recipe from this post on Life at Cobble Hill Farm: https://www.lifeatcobblehillfarm.com/2025/05/this-week-in-kitchen-meal-prep-recipes.html

I first made black bean brownies 5 years ago, using a recipe from Don't Waste the Crumbs and I liked these ones more. But I think I prefer "basic" brownies without black beans in! I don't like the texture you get with black beans as much.

The weather has been varied during the past few months. As I wrote in my Beltane post, we had a lot of sun during April and it was hotter at the end of the month. It was the sunniest spring on record. We had a mix of hotter weather and cooler, rainy weather during May and June. However, it was England's warmest June on record and the second warmest UK wide.

We've had several heatwaves so far. The hottest it got in my area of Sussex was 28C (83F). In the past few days we've had a lot of rain, but it's sunny today and 23C (72F).

 

So that's it for the update! The next sabbat is Lammas and it's coming up soon (1st August). I will write about my celebrations. Also, I'm planning to do a post about summer salads, probably next week and I might include a section about celebration ideas. 

For now, here is my most recent Lammas celebration ideas (from 2022): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/07/happy-lammas.html 

I hope everyone is doing ok and that your summer (or winter) is going well and your year so far. I've had a bit of a hard first half of the year, up and down. In addition to these posts, I write mid-year updates on Falling Petals. You can see 2025's here: https://fallingpetalsuk.blogspot.com/2025/06/mid-2025-reflections.html

Note: I've added a new category to the end section, where I share what I've been watching, reading etc. (about meals I've been making).  

 

Read: Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber, The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisahi Kashiwai, Manifest Anything You Want by Shantini Rajah (non-fiction) about the Law of Attraction/manifesting), Don't Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen (non-fiction).

Watched: The Game, The Catch, Nosferatu remake (2024), Salem's Lot (2024). 

Current Favourite Songs: Niza- Heaven, THE KID LAROI- ALL I WANT IS YOU, Justin Bieber- TOO LONG.

Meals I've been making: Chicken, broccoli and fried rice (Mix and Match Mama recipe that I first came across last year; I usually have mixed veg rather than just broccoli), rice, chicken and salad (inspired by Rebekah from The Tex Mex Mom's meal plan), burgers, salad and chips (fries), a meal based on this one for Farmer's Market chicken from Home with Grace and Joy (the main meat I eat is chicken, lol)

 

Links I've found useful during spring and summer:

Videos by Cherellethinks about dealing with health anxiety: https://www.youtube.com/@cherellethinks

Janet Domahina's YouTube channel (lifestyle videos): https://www.youtube.com/@janet.ndomahina

Seasonal blog posts by Adriana Tudorache from YR Studio (she also has a YouTube channel). Here is her July Slow Living To-Do List: https://yrstudio.co.uk/blogs/adriana-tudorache-blog/slow-living-july-guide