SOLSTICE AND EQUINOX

      I usually write about the solstice and equinox. I am fascinated   about the position of the sun and length of day. This year  I said ,"I'll skip it."

    Well you may ask why  you're posting now.

    We had a very rainy dark solstice. The usual long evening was  very dark and dull. The sun sets around 10 PM. But this year is was not a pleasant sunny evening at  all.

    We had rain and the cloud above us  would probably have been ten thousand feet.

    So I will take advantage of all the long evenings left . Tonight I went on a three Km walk in pleasant sunshine.

SUMMER SOLSTICE

       The summer solstice is one of my favorite days of the year. We have the excitement of the longest day and then the beginning of shorter days. 

      Here the sun rose at 5:13 AM and sets at 10:00 PM for a total of 16 hours and 47 minutes of sun up. 

     If we watch we can see twilight  at mid night. When I was in the Arctic the midnight sun was always a special event. 

       I took these photos in 2019 in my yard  around 10PM . It was still very pleasant in the evening.

      Our garden plants start to develop very quickly with the long days. 

SUMMER SOLSTICE

       Summer solstice is always an interesting time for me. In fact, it's exciting. You imagine the sun and earth moving together so that the sun crosses the equator. 

      Then we have the pleasure of the longest day of the year. Here the sun rose at 5:13 AM  and set at 10:00 PM for total daylight of 16 hours 47 minutes and a few seconds. 

     I wanted to get some sunset photos but we had a strange sunset. I was up at midnight and looking north over the city one could plainly see sunlight. 

    This photo was from a few years ago showing  a house about 9:45 PM. 

  This shows my street about 10:15 PM. 

   So now it's down hill  until December. 

   I know my timer on the camera needs to be reset. 

SUMMER SOLSTICE

        I had in mind to do a few photos for summer solstice. It turned out to be a challenge that beat me. 

        I looked out at midnight the night before the solstice. There was an excellent photo. Just what I wanted. To the north, north west was light with a row of spruce trees that would how up black. 

        So the next night I was up, not at midnight though. It was cloudy.

       I prepared to try again last night so I set my camera out. Rats! I woke up at 4:15 AM. Well , I'm up anyway so I might as well take a few  shots. 

      For some reason I did not have my glasses on! So this photo is badly out of focus. So remember next time. Wear your glasses. 

     So this is 4:15 AM looking mostly north and a little to the east.

     Now I have to remember to include the photo!

ANXIETY OVER SUMMER STOLTICE

      Last evening I went out to take photos related to summer stoltice. No, I wasn't overly anxious and wanted to jump the gun on photos. The weather forecast was the better last evening.

    So at 9:30 I packed the camera and got on the bike and went to a high spot about three Km from the house.  All photos are from 9:40 to 10:00 PM.

    I tried to show our long day where the sun set at 9:58  PM and rises at 5:14  AM For many people it's hard to visualize broad daylight at 10:00 PM. At midnight we still see light in the sky

       View of a senior's residence to the east.

  North side of a house

  The sun has not quite set.

  Somebody else is out bike riding. I met a woman pushing a stroller

  Across the street at 10:00 PM

An out of focus photo of my street at 10:00PM

Oh the Strawberry Moon

        Summer solstice is one of my favorite days. We wait for this day for a whole year. We look forward to long sunny warm days. But, it also means that days begin to shorten. But we won't think about that right now.

        This morning the sun rose at 5:13AM and sets at 10:01 for 16 hours and 47 minutes of sunshine.

        But what's really cool about this summer solstice is that in the northern hemisphere we get a "strawberry moon!" You've never heard of a strawberry moon ? Well neither have I.

       The strawberry moon is the name for the full moon in June. This comes from American natives who related the full moon to the time when strawberries would be ripe. So the full moon in June is always a strawberry moon. What's special is the times we have the full moon on summer solstice. It doesn't happen very often. So today we have a full moon on summer solstice. The last time we had this situation was in 1967.

       The following photos were from 2012. Tonight there is a cloud bank in the west.

North side of a house at about 9:35 PM

My back yard at about 9:55PM

Sunset

What Day Is It?

     Today is ;
         (a) Father's Day
         (b) Summer solstice
         (c) National aboriginal day
         (d) International yoga day
         (e) all of the above

    I woke up thinking about two things: Father's Day and Summer solstice. 

    Father's day things happened first. Sometime in the morning the Micro Manager wished me a happy Father's day. She'd taken me out for lunch on Friday. Later I got a phone call from my daughter and son in law. I think about my Dad most days so today there were a few more thoughts. Dad was a big influence in my life. As we grew older the influences changed but the influences were always there and they are still with me today.. 

    Now summer solstice is always a big day for me. It's a prominent marker in the year.  I did not get any special photos this year but I have some from a couple of years ago  when I was allowed to  stay out after 10:00 PM. The sun rose today at 5:14 AM and sets at 21:59. It's a beautiful evening and it will not get dark until around 2300. 

This is about 21:45

My back yard at 2200

This is as good as it gets with a point and shoot

    In Canada, it's also National Aboriginal Day. Since I did a post on the aboriginal issue a few days ago , it's a suitable day to recognize.

     Now I know nothing about yoga but I thought out of all things recognized today that this would be suitable. It will impress my 84 year old friend who is nuts about yoga.

   Now if you look up anything about special days you will find more than you ever wanted to know. So I can go along with the celebration of special days. I do keep things to my own country.

   I hope that you were able to do justice to the marking of Father's day and that you celebrated summer solstice.