The Solstice is upon us tomorrow. It always gives me cause for pause signifying as it does the tilt of the earth in relation to the sun. There is a brief ‘standing still’ as gears change and new seasons beckon in both northern and southern hemispheres.
What happens when a solstice occurs? It’s an event that occurs when the Sun appears to reach its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around June 21 and December 21, when the Earth’s axis is pointed directly towards the Sun (wikipedia)
For you in the northern hemisphere summer really begins. For those of in us the southern hemisphere winter takes hold.
The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with seasons, harvests and livelihood.
I’m back home as of last week Saturday 11th June, the day before my birthday.
This is the sunrise that greeted me on Sunday June 12. I took it from my bedroom balcony. Those are the Tsitsikama mountains. There was snow on them last week and snow around the country.
It was a lovely 10 days or so up on the highveld. Of course the greatest joy was seeing Sam my grandson. For my sister Debora who accompanied me on this road trip up to Johannesburg this was her first time meeting him. Enchanted from the word go.
I could wax lyrical about this little baby. But I would get carried away. Dave & Jüte sent this photo of him on Father’s Day, yesterday.
His smiles that reached his bright blue beautiful eyes made me feel like a million dollars. And anyone really – each and every one in his orbit on whom he bestowed a smile felt the beauty of him and their hearts uplifted.
A photo from last week, all bundled up for a walk in the park –
I had a lovely time up on the Highveld, bright blue skies during the day, freezing cold at night. I saw a few special friends, but did not dash hither and thither as is my wont. I had injured my leg on the first day of being away, and am still feeling the repercussions. Especially in my toes on my right foot at night. My husband, retired ear nose and throat specialist, is now my ear nose and toes go-to person. Dear Lord, I am praying that this resolves itself … the pain is terrible, at night.
It’s lovely being at home, over a week already. Our newly planted garden is doing well and all seems to have rooted and taken. We had professionals come in early May. Much new soil, a thorough turning over of old soil, some plants transplanted and many newly planted. A 4 day exercise. Already there is colour and come Spring it’s bound to be a riot.
Towards the end of April, we motored to Wellington and embarked on the Wellington Wine Walk, a 3 night 4 day hike in this beautiful part of the world in the western cape. At times fairly arduous, especially on one of the days that was seriously hot. Wine and olive oil tastings along the way, magnificent scenery, lovely lunches provided, very comfortable night time accommodations.
The whales are in the Bay I’ve heard. Yesterday afternoon I thought I saw something very far away fairly close to the horizon of the sea. Only some white that came and went. Even with binoculars it was hard to determine. Not birds, not waves, not dolphins …
The governing party of my country is facing a huge backlash. There is so much that is so wrong. They’ve gotten away with criminal activity on a gigantic scale. The impact of this has affected us all, the poorest of the poor in particular. State owned Enterprises have failed on a grand scale. Assassinations are the order of the day. Anyone who is seen as a whistle blower or who does not agree with the party line (ANC – African National Congress) is done away with. Loadshedding (electricity blackouts) are the order of the day in these cold cold nights. Much else but this is not meant to be a rant post. I think the tide is turning and many, once staunch supporters of the ANC, have lost hope in the Mandela dream. They need to be voted out asap –
Dave, Jüte & Sam, along with Pablo the pooch and Naomi (Meowmi) the cat will be here in Plett fairly soon. They’ve been busy packing up for long weeks now. It was my pleasure to ‘look after’ Sam when he was awake so that they could continue with sorting and packing. My elder son Mike arrived in New York on Saturday. He has a big 4 day NFT meeting starting tomorrow. He’s based right there at Times Square in a Hilton hotel and is pretty buzzed about it all.
I’ve been AWOL a long time. Probably will continue so. My energy levels are down. The below photo is of a sunset from outside balcony and the one after it is today’s photo, without that very large palm tree in our neighbour’s garden which was severely trimmed the other day.
Thank you for reading. I hope this finds you all well in these troubling times. May the Force be with you as the wheel keeps turning.