It was a little more than a week past Midsummer, and everyone was only half-busy.

Squirrel practiced his acrobatics and delivered mail in the afternoons.

Crow helped with a few errands, including carrying a string bag of lemons to Mama Chipmunk, who was gathering supplies for her summer lemon-and-blueberry cake.

Rabbit opened all the windows in her tea shop and could often be found sitting outside, on the front stoop.

Raccoon made coffee and organized her pantry.

And everyone kept one ear focused on the trees, awaiting the first song of the summer cicadas.

(July 2023)

Story & Photo © Jennifer Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales, full of cozy vibes, delicious details, and generous dollops of imagination & whimsy. Click one of the first two buttons below to go to (or back to, if that’s where you fell down the rabbit hole) either the Public Garden archive page or (if you’re a Story Club member) to the Private Garden page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories. Want each week’s featured story delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to my Substack.