Summer Solstice

From the vantage point of our house, we can see mountain ranges to the east and to the west, their silhouettes perfect for solstice alignment.

The top two photos are from last night, the bottom two from this morning. All show the sun's northernmost range as seen from here.

The second photo shows the long path (to the left of the setting sun) the sun has followed since the winter solstice, when it set up the hill to the left, farther to the left than the photo shows.

The third photo shows the same path since the winter solstice, this time to the right. We've watched the sun progress down into dips and then up to the mountain top and now down into a second dip over the past six months.

Abundant light, the most we'll have this year, ought to be celebrated with friends, and perhaps tonight with a dark imperial Russian stout called "Outer Darkness."

Because this is the day the sun will "stand" still (sol-stice), because it takes a while to gather speed again to wander south, there have been and will be several days of long sunlight to celebrate.