June solstice

 

Happy Summer solstice!  The June solstice marks the start of astronomical summer for the Northern Hemisphere.  In Chicago, the solstice occurs at 9:57 am on Wednesday, June 21, 2023. 

 According to the old  pagan calendar,  this is Midsummer--the longest days and shortest nights occur at this time.  This time was the setting of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream.  So fleeting, the dark, now. This is the height of daylight. 

This is also the height of the growing season. Gardens are becoming overgrown, in spite of the lack of rain. Peppers and tomato plants are blooming and growing now. The mulberry trees are dropping their berries like crazy!  Milkweeds and  day lilies are blooming in the alleys.

Last night, June 19, I saw the first firefly of the season!

Hurricane season has started. Already, there is activity in the Atlantic. Tropical Depression 3 has become the second named tropical storm---Bret.   

The first batch of mosquitoes has tested positive for West Nile Virus in Cook County. 

These are days of sun and haze from Canadian wildfires. 

This is summer here-- fireflies and mosquitos.  

And a sliver of a crescent moon!

The smell of the grass

 

 

 

Oh the aroma of fresh-cut grass!  The smell of rain. Fragrances of  summer days, more evocative than store-bought perfumes.  

 

But it's been so dry of late, the grass is turning brown.   People are watering their lawns and parkways,  an offering to the rain spirits.  Oh for rain in Canada, to help with the wildfires. 

Then, Sunday---gray sky, and light rain falling.Just a sprinkling  on the leaves and the grass, you can almost smell it.  Petrichor, the smell of rain.  You can read more about petrichor  here.

 

And after the rain, the lingering scent of the last of the peonies, the rose perfume of the thorny roses...

 

 

A Saturday in June

 

 

 

 

 It's a beautiful day in June here. Blue sky, and passing clouds. Tomatoes and peppers are growing in the sun.  People are walking their dogs, carrying grocery bags, riding their bikes.  

We sure could use some rain, though. Lawns are brown, and some trees are dropping yellow leaves.

 In New York area, the sky is orange like a science-fiction movie. The sky is orange from the smoke from the wildfires in Eastern Canada. The situation is so dire, firefighters from the US, South Africa, France  and many other countries have come to help control the fires. 

The Atlantic hurricane season has officially begun on June 1, but so far, there have been no storms that could turn into hurricanes.  Not yet. 

So rare, this day in June.  Pride parades and rainbows,  fires and indictments.  And tonight, a three-quarter moon.