Summer Solstice

 It snuck up on me this year.  I love the solstices, but the Summer Solstice is a little bittersweet.  It kicks off the start of Summer yet the days begin to grow shorter immediately after.  I love the season for its warmth, the lush and abundant vegetation and the ability to enjoy  splashing around Vermont's lakes and rivers.  But I think my favorite part is the long days.  Nothing like enjoying a cold beer on the porch after having mowed the lawn, after dinner, it's nine pm and the sky is still light!
  Interesting tidbit gleaned from VPR this morning.  The word solstice means sun-still. On the two solstices, the sun stands still as far as its seasonal path of movement before reversing direction, thereby beginning the next season.  Similarly the two equinox, vernal and autumnal, represent the beginnings and ends of seasons, with the word equinox meaning equal night, and occurs on those two days when the Earth's axis is neither pointing toward or away from the sun.  Most people know what the four days represent in terms of season and length of day,  and many probably know what the root meanings of each word represent, I just never stopped to think about it.