Photo by BJ Lecrone

This month’s topic of summer comes to a close was supplemented by a focus on a man who was an artist at the Lombardi Cancer Center who died recently. He taught patients and staff to draw sunflowers. He was a patient and had a good sense of what patients and staff needed: to feel a part of the world, to contribute art in a setting where it was least expected.  We looked at one of his paintings and imagined what it was like to have cancer and an opportunity to create, while our bodies were compromised.  We listened to one of his poems about sunflowers, then went outside to assess the climate impact on Morven Park. Though the stream was completely dry, most of the plants seem to be thriving. There were more dried leaves on the ground than usual.

We talked about the world’s resilience, and that perhaps it could endure these hot stretches.  We also talked with great concern about our county supervisors’ focus in data centers, while ignoring the natural beauty and health of Loudoun County. BJ Lecrone reminded us of the work that Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy is doing to educate our citizens about issues like data centers, and how we can become involved in resisting the supervisors’ short-sighted view of the needs of our citizens.

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