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!