Happy Summer Solstice

June 21, 2017 Wednesday                                               Most Recent Posts:
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Acadia National Park                                                        Nature Journaling Workshop in Shenandoah National Park
Mount Desert Island, Maine

 

I’m skipping ahead a week to wish you all a wonderful Summer Solstice on the very day.  Well actually if you are in a time zone west of Eastern, then the solstice was yesterday since the actual time was 12:24am today Eastern Time.

I was up in the dark for the 4:48am sunrise. The moon was a sliver as the dawn was barely beginning.

 

 

By 3:45, Nancy Mills and I are driving up Cadillac Mountain to greet the day at the top of one of the first spots in the US to get the sun’s rays.   Unlike the last few foggy, rainy, cloudy days, this morning dawns bright and clear.  As we reach the bottom of the mountain the cars are pouring in.  Looks like all the people we invited to our party are on time.

 

 

The show begins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The moon is still up in the sky as the sun as the colors gather down at the horizon.

 

 

 

 

 

And here it comes.  Just a glimmer.

 

We’ve begun the longest day of the year.  What a great beginning.

 

David has to spend today at the clinic for his infusion so he is unable to join Nancy and Bill and I later in the morning when we head in to Bar Harbor for a walk on the former estate of George Dorr who is known as the father of Acadia National Park.  The story of the park is an intersting one in that it is the only national park to be created entirely from donated land.  Much of that came from George Dorr whose family fortune financed the purchase of many pieces of land that were later donated to create the park.  Dorr actually died in near povery in 1944 after having been the park’s first superintendent.  It seemed fitting to visit the land he so loved on the day of Summer Solstice.

The grounds of the estate are beautiful. 

 

 

 

Unfortunately his lovely home is no longer standing. A very sad story in my mind. Only the foundation, a patio or two and stairs leading into and from the house remain. 

 

 

But beautiful Compass Point that he so loved is now available for all to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later in the day, David and I continue our celebration by setting up our bird station.  I have wanted a set up for the birds since we first began full timing 7 years ago but we really do not have a place for the  sheperds hook to travel with us.  Our car isn’t big enough for it and neither are any of our outside storage bins.   But this year, after seeing the one Nancy and Bill have set up, I decided that I wanted it badly enough to wrap the pole in a blanket and put it in living room of the motorhome while we travel.  

There are 4 feeders – one song bird mix, a suet, a thistle sock and a hummingbird feeder.
Ok guys, dinner is served!!   This way.

 

 

And of course there must be a Solstice Cake.  Nancy and Bill are going to help us with it since Carrie isn’t here.   Help us eat it that is.

 

 

 

David’s cutting a little corner for Nancy at her request and the rest of the slice for Bill at his request.  Bill is watching carefully.

 

 

Summer Solstice marks the turning point in the year which has been waxing since the Winter Solstice in December. We’ve all been cheering as the days get longer and warmer, the nights shorter and less cold. But now things are turning once again. 

With Summer Solstice, we begin the waning process. It’s easy not to notice it with the Earth so green and full of bountiful harvest but things are always changing.   It’s the Wheel of the Year.

Wishing all of you Bright Blessings on this longest day of the year. 
I hope you did something to celebrate that despite our arrogance toward the intricacy and fragility of our environment, the sun is still on its yearly rounds.  
May it always be so.