Today marks Dashu, or Major Heat, the last of summer's six solar terms and the hottest, most humid stretch of the year. The heat rises and rolls in waves, and yet everything in the natural world grows freely and fully in this intensity.
Major Heat has three signs: rotting grass giving rise to fireflies, the soil turning damp under muggy heat, and heavy rains falling often. The evening wind carries warm, moist air, rice grows heavy in the fields, fruit ripens sweet, and cicadas call without pause, the liveliest picture of deep summer. The most intense heat has always been the buildup to a good harvest.
High summer has its own quiet relief. There is no need to suffer through the heat: a bowl of mung bean soup, a few pieces of sweet fruit, and a shaded, breezy spot are enough to cool things down.
Major Heat has arrived, and summer is nearly done. The intensity of high summer will pass, but everything that grew and pushed forward in the heat will show its results in the autumn harvest. Wishing everyone a summer met with warmth and spirit, calmly lived, with autumn ahead.