Today is the Summer Solstice. Seems we missed out on the real fun, which was taking place down in Fremont, home of Adobe Software and neighbor to the University of Washington. They had a parade celebrating the solstice, and it seems some of the participants thought it was clothing-optional – about 50 bicyclists, to be specific. Sounds rather uncomfortable to me.
This far north, the solstice has a more profound effect. It’s light by 5:00 AM, and doesn’t get dark until almost 10:00. Of course, winter has the opposite effect, with the sun staying down until about 8:00 and starting to set at 4:30. This gives rise to season deffective disorder, which is why Mrs. Wright comes to visit us for two months out of the year.
But, it’s summer, so we enjoy an unusually long day. In 1987 I was in England, not too far from Stonehenge, on the Summer Solstice. I was too ignorant of the time and the geography to take advantage of the situation. I just noticed the long days.
This solstice, I got up early amd walked to the west end of the island, as I like to do when I’m here. There is a heron nesting area in the middle of the island, and several of the large birds seemed to be headed that way. The flowers in the yards are brilliant, especially poppies and roses. It always seems like things grow better up here than where we live. When I reached the village of Samish Island, I noticed that a couple of the houses seem larger than I remembered. I hope that we don’t have a case of emerging architectural warfare going one. Some person with no ties to the island builds a large house that obstructs a view. Someone else enlarges their house to preserve their view that was previously obstructed, and so on until there are no public views of the good stuff. This has certainly happened on the South Carolina coast. Samish Village is still quaint and small, but more people are moving in, and it looks like they prefer larger homes.
Since it is Father’s Day, I made some calls back to the East, we placed flowers at Bow Cemetery, and took some time to reflect on the Journey So Far. As I read back over previous journal entries, I find the terms “outstanding” and “spectacular” used more that they should be. I apparently lack the vocabulary to truly describe some of the things we have seen. I am reminded of a close friend who used to describe everything in superlatives. This band is “the best”, as is that Thai restaurant, or the latest book he has read. Nothing is mediocre. I guess he just never discusses anything but the best, and never comments on the mundane. But how is one to make comparisons and choices? So instead of describing everything as being breathtaking, I’ll try to be a bit more descriptive.
Where description fails, there are always pictures. I never got my ASP gallery to work right, especially on this slow dial-up connection, but I did manage to add a few more images in-line with the journal. I’m still working on it, and hopefully I’ll have them all uploaded, probably by the time I get back.
So back to the Solstice. After relaxation and reflection, I washed 3500 miles of dust off of the car. Dinner, then Laura and I, in a fit of lunacy, decided to go for a ride. We road through the foothills of the Skagit and Whatcom Counties, and around the banks of Lake Samish just north of here.
…and before I get any e-mails or comments about the Solstice, it officially began Sunday evening our time, so Monday, June 21, is the “first full day of Summer,” and is often cited as the actual solstice. But astronomically, I’m right.