As the summer solstice sun lightened the sky at 3.42 it also lit the perfect crescent moon just above it ,that sight for me was perfection ……….not usually such an early riser,that walk around my garden in the damp grass was unforgettable!
Gorgeous images everyone! I used to feel a sadness passing the summer solstice (all downhill from here etc) but these days it feels like the moment to settle into and enjoy the summer, whatever the British weather serves up, and to look forward to the magical seasons that follow.
I loved your post about Malaga, Lia! Well, this week I baked the Strawberry Shortbread from June in your Almanac! I am saving it for Sunday when we are going round to friends for lunch, but hopefully it will be delicious. The lavender was from my herb garden. Love seasonal living.
The first raspberries from the garden canes, sharp sweet perfection - but also the first yellow leaves lying on the grass, only one or two but enough to cause an internal shiver.
Summer Solstice celebration at a very remote ancient standing stone seeing pyramidal orchids in the fields at their finest .Eating the finest cacao chocolate at cococaravan in Stroud afterwards to recharge and restore ourselves .Butterflies are flitting about this week and the roses are wafting their scents on the warm breezes heavenly solstice 🌀
The solstice excitement of a narrow-bordered five-spot burnet moth laying her eggs on our self-seeded clover (sorry for the note attachment, but wanted to share the photos for those who might be interested)
Amazing pics Amy. I have seen this moth for the first time ever in my garden in Birmingham this year. (And again this week in Pembrokeshire.) Shall have to look out for eggs.
Hi Wendy. We usually see these on the nearby clifftops, but it’s the first time we’ve seen them in the back yard too. I think it’s been a good year for them, they seem to prefer the hotter drier years (not claiming this as scientific fact, just how it seems to me 😁). Good to hear that you have seen them, I love them.
I have begun to harvest my cucumber 'mini munch' and it looks like we will have enough to share with our neighbours. Also, the delight of hearing a Tawny Owl calling just after midnight.
Tottenham Marshes are frothy with matted clumps of heath bedstraw. My wild flower book says it has a sickly smell but I disagree. The wild plums on the trees are abundant, let’s hope they get some rain while they ripen.
Watched the solstice sunset from the back porch. A blazing orange ball melting into the horizon of oak tree studded cornfield. Recognizing how far northwest on the horizon it sank, compared to the winter solstice when it's far to the southwest. A completely different perspective.
Darkness falls late these days, but staying up is rewarded by a display of lightning bugs filling the air. So mesmerizing it often delays me going to bed.
Keeping a look out for Tree Creepers on the avenue of lime trees I caught a flicker of movement in the shade - not a bird, a bat. Early morning but still daylight, I do hope it was ok.
Lol, not a morning person...wish I was, but my body doesn't approve!
My solstice moment was actually the evening before, watching the sun go down over Greenwich Park, where the London skyscrapers could almost be standing stones with a bit of imagination!
On holiday here too! Walking the coastal paths of Pembrokeshire in the company of butterflies and skylarks. Cooler than inland, but that has given me extra miles in my legs. A solstice sunset looking way out west.
As the summer solstice sun lightened the sky at 3.42 it also lit the perfect crescent moon just above it ,that sight for me was perfection ……….not usually such an early riser,that walk around my garden in the damp grass was unforgettable!
I love that the swimming pools and water parks opened early, but yes, it's so very early.😅
Gorgeous images everyone! I used to feel a sadness passing the summer solstice (all downhill from here etc) but these days it feels like the moment to settle into and enjoy the summer, whatever the British weather serves up, and to look forward to the magical seasons that follow.
By the way Lia - of course you were missed!
Aw...x
I loved your post about Malaga, Lia! Well, this week I baked the Strawberry Shortbread from June in your Almanac! I am saving it for Sunday when we are going round to friends for lunch, but hopefully it will be delicious. The lavender was from my herb garden. Love seasonal living.
It’s soft fruit season, picking and then evenings spent sorting. Strawberries are over, blackcurrants, jostaberries and gooseberries at their peak.
The June drop of apples sends them plummeting like bullets onto the patio. (Never plant an apple tree above a patio!)
Holiday in the peaks, warm walks, cool swims, birdsong and beauty beyond measure. My heart soars.
The first raspberries from the garden canes, sharp sweet perfection - but also the first yellow leaves lying on the grass, only one or two but enough to cause an internal shiver.
Summer Solstice celebration at a very remote ancient standing stone seeing pyramidal orchids in the fields at their finest .Eating the finest cacao chocolate at cococaravan in Stroud afterwards to recharge and restore ourselves .Butterflies are flitting about this week and the roses are wafting their scents on the warm breezes heavenly solstice 🌀
The solstice excitement of a narrow-bordered five-spot burnet moth laying her eggs on our self-seeded clover (sorry for the note attachment, but wanted to share the photos for those who might be interested)
https://substack.com/@betteroutdoors/note/c-128019556
Amazing pics Amy. I have seen this moth for the first time ever in my garden in Birmingham this year. (And again this week in Pembrokeshire.) Shall have to look out for eggs.
Hi Wendy. We usually see these on the nearby clifftops, but it’s the first time we’ve seen them in the back yard too. I think it’s been a good year for them, they seem to prefer the hotter drier years (not claiming this as scientific fact, just how it seems to me 😁). Good to hear that you have seen them, I love them.
I have never seen them before! So bright.
I have begun to harvest my cucumber 'mini munch' and it looks like we will have enough to share with our neighbours. Also, the delight of hearing a Tawny Owl calling just after midnight.
Tottenham Marshes are frothy with matted clumps of heath bedstraw. My wild flower book says it has a sickly smell but I disagree. The wild plums on the trees are abundant, let’s hope they get some rain while they ripen.
Watched the solstice sunset from the back porch. A blazing orange ball melting into the horizon of oak tree studded cornfield. Recognizing how far northwest on the horizon it sank, compared to the winter solstice when it's far to the southwest. A completely different perspective.
Darkness falls late these days, but staying up is rewarded by a display of lightning bugs filling the air. So mesmerizing it often delays me going to bed.
Keeping a look out for Tree Creepers on the avenue of lime trees I caught a flicker of movement in the shade - not a bird, a bat. Early morning but still daylight, I do hope it was ok.
Lol, not a morning person...wish I was, but my body doesn't approve!
My solstice moment was actually the evening before, watching the sun go down over Greenwich Park, where the London skyscrapers could almost be standing stones with a bit of imagination!
On holiday here too! Walking the coastal paths of Pembrokeshire in the company of butterflies and skylarks. Cooler than inland, but that has given me extra miles in my legs. A solstice sunset looking way out west.