No price is set on the lavish summer;
June may be had by the poorest comer. - James Russell Lowell, “The Vision of Sir Launfal”
And so another astronomical year has come and gone, the third since I started this blog; the anniversary is July 10th, but this is the last of the sabbats before then. The apparent path of the sun reached its northernmost point (at the Tropic of Cancer) at 5:02 UTC this morning (that is, 12:02 AM where I live) and that makes today the longest day of the year (and the first day of astronomical summer) in the northern hemisphere, and the shortest day (and first day of astronomical winter) in the southern. After today, the days get shorter but hotter, reaching their hottest (in the North American interior, at least) during the Dog Days of late July and early August. As I’ve explained before, I’m not overly fond of summer because I don’t care for excessive heat and overlong afternoons, though the fresh blackberries of June are a generous compensation for the earliest part of it. And I suspect this may be a relatively mild summer, considering the unusually-chilly spring. That’s what I’m hoping for, anyhow. And for all my readers, I hope and pray that each of you gets whatever it is you’re looking for out of the summer as well.
Blessed Be!