By Lindsay Martell — The dog days of summer are like our five-year-old pup: a bit meandering, a little listless and all about taking things real, real slow.

I’ve wanted to try meditation for years, but I knew it would be a herculean task to corral my scattered thoughts and settle into a place of focus and calm. It’s hard to just…be. So when I came across Meditation in Motion — guided sessions that fuse gentle movements and mindfulness — it sounded like a promising way to help me feel less frazzled and more centered.

Led by a practitioner from Limitless Wellness and Neurofeedback, the informal class was held at Robbins Park on a Sunday morning. There, as I unrolled my yoga mat and tried to empty my brain of the mom noise, I allowed myself to find those pauses that elude me.

I loved the simple movements designed to reset the nervous system — things like tapping my collarbone and the space between my eyebrows. It was surprisingly soothing, and I found myself melting into the calm spaces it opened up for me. Sponsored by the Town of Cornelius, free and open to all, it was a refreshing way to start the week.

And since stillness is a forever quest, I thought I’d visit with the ultimate creatures of quiet — tortoises — at Unsheltered Tortoise and Turtle in Huntersville. Founded three years ago by a veterinary technician with a passion for shelled creatures, this mini oasis is a gem for those interested in reptiles and wildlife conservation.

It’s a rehab facility for wild box turtles, a tortoise sanctuary and an education center nestled on nearly five acres. The primary species being rehabilitated is the sulcata, also known as the African spurred tortoise. These massive creatures have an average lifespan of more than 80 years and can weigh up to 200 pounds.

We fed them bright green lettuce leaves, which they ripped and chewed like herbivorous dinosaurs. Some of the residents are sponsored by their previous owners, who are currently unable to house them but hope to reunite with them someday. I was touched by this arrangement of care and compassion. It was a reminder that all creatures deserve a safe place to grow and thrive.

On a trek up north to Mount Ulla, I sought a different kind of solace at Patterson Farm, where my daughter and I hoped to pick blackberries on a morning that wasn’t blazing hot.

Instead, we got caught in an epic summer storm. The rain was relentless — swirling around us as we hid out in the farm’s on-site market. There, we dodged shrieking summer camp littles in matching T-shirts, and bought a huge basket of berries and peach ice cream cones.

We sat out the storm and snipped the tips of honey sticks, laughing, of course, at all the ways our plans — like the rain — sometimes go sideways.

These are my favorite parts of summer: the creatures and the comfort, and the days that become snapshots, silent and still.

The headline is from novelist Sara Baume, who wrote “This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.”

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Milling About is a column about life around Lake Norman, written by Lindsay Martell. The column name is a nod to life around the lake and our town’s mill history.

Lindsay Martell lives in Birkdale with her husband, daughter, and a scruffy mini mutt named Dug.