Solstice Weekend

This last weekend was full of busy celebration.  The weather here has been un-summerlike for late June; fairly cool, rain almost daily, and lots of fog.  Despite this, every moment this weekend that truly mattered was enveloped in a ray of sunshine to remind us that it is really summer.  On the solstice we dodged rain drops all day.  When it came time for our Solstice Celebration at the Eco-Justice Center, the sun came through just in time for a spectacular sunset on the longest day.  Perfect to enjoy the Native American drumming and stories around the medicine wheel.

Sunday a high school classmate of B's arrived for a short visit (thank you facebook for rekindling old friendships).  He and his wife rode all the way here from Tulsa on their motorcycle and headed out this morning toward the U.P.  We welcomed them in true farm style with a garden supper complete with a large beer tasting and a welcoming party of Wisconsin friends to celebrate.

The adults enjoyed the garden, while the kids picnicked on the grass and played the evening away.

Yesterday after work and running to appointments and 4h activities we enjoyed another lovely garden dinner with our friends and off they went this morning...in what else, more fog.  Great to finally meet you Tim & Jeanice, until next time!  I'd say quite the perfect weekend to celebrate midsummer.

Upon Midsummer

The changing of the seasons,
this inevitable turning of the tide is important to me. 
Maybe because our seasons here are so sharp,  so beautiful, so changing,
or because of how attuned we need to be to watch the ebb and flow of the earth
while growing our own food.  Though the solstice does not have to align with heat, this year, for us anyway, it does.  When I came home last night from a meeting it was still 85 degrees at 9 pm.  This awakened fleeting dream-like memories in the back of my mind of long summer's eves when we lived in Las Vegas and relished how soothing 100 degree heat could be at midnight.   Upon midsummer, a humid heat like this leads to late nights with fireflies, and lazy dreams.  Some that you remember, some that just leave you with their essence. 


“I have had a most rare vision. I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it was.”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Solstice

  When I awoke at five this morning, it was pure darkness.  Then this afternoon I stopped for just a moment to look up and this is what I saw at 4:15 pm.  It took me a moment in my blur of the week to remember that this is the longest day of the year.  I posted a poem on my facebook wall yesterday and I thought it was perfect for reflecting upon and celebrating the solstice.

"From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens -
the garden outdoors,
the garden of pots and bowls in the house,
and the garden of the mind's eye."
- Katherine S. White

Indeed beginning tomorrow, the light will once again slowly be in our favor.   Where ever you are on this darkest day of the year, may you find peace and warmth in the season!