Midsummer Joys
All my life I have literally rolled my eyes at the thought of summer solstice and the first day of summer in late June. It was June 21st this year and now that I have done a little reading on the subject, just a little, I feel somewhat better about it. Everyone knows that summer has been in full swing here in the south for some time. If I counted the summer solstice as really the beginning of my summer, it would be a little depressing because I would feel that fall will never come. And it will feel that way no matter what I think about the calendar. On top of that, three days after the first day of summer is also a day recognized as Midsummer! What is going on?
This photograph is a record of where the sun comes up in front of our house at it northernmost position. The house faces due north and I wanted to make a record of it.
It helped when I read that the solstice on June 21 is astronomically considered the first day of summer but that June 24 is actually the meteorological Midsummer because it is considered the middle of the growing season. And when you think about it, that is about right. We have been harvesting squash, tomatoes, basil and flowers for a while now. However, I have plenty of time to plant more and harvest before the weather is too cool. So, evidently, there is also this thing called quarter days. Midsummer is a quarter day. I’m not completely sure about when the other quarter days occur but I plan to learn more about that as the year progresses. With such a long hot season here, I think it helps to divide it up into smaller increments. I’ll let you know in September how much it helps, but let’s just keep a positive attitude about it for now.
Actually, while we have had some hot weather and we have stopped walking in the woods because of yellow flies and horse flies, the summer has been pretty comfortable so far. This evening I am on our porch while a light rain falls and the temperature is 79 degrees. I’ll take that any day.
So, as we pass through the midsummer days, I wanted to share some of the delicacies we are enjoying and be thankful for the long, hot days that provide us with all these things. Just know that the bowl pictured is mostly full of just whipping cream on those peaches. I love them and the season for those is so short. Thankfully, our Saturday market has reopened now and they are abundant for a while, thanks to the growers right here in our county.
The squash have been our greatest success in the big garden down by the pond. Everything we planted there grows well but only the squash are passed over by the deer and the rabbits. If you have a proven remedy for this problem, please let me know!
This just makes me smile. We are still learning but every flower and every bite of those great Caprese salads encourage us to keep going.
Basil pesto and homemade sourdough baguette make the perfect appetizer. There is enough basil to make a gallon of this stuff.
These are all feasting days with so much abundance at our fingertips. I guess the deer and the rabbits, as well as the regularly fed birds, are feeling about the same.
