This essay is an update of an earlier one that was originally posted in 2014, and again in 2018. An extensive re-write took place in order to update the essay to meet the current situation. The version you’re about to read contains a number of changes to the original.                                                                                   Word count:  770

Sweet, Sweet Solstice

In Silverton

For me, one of the best illustrations of how the earth rotates around the sun during a one-year cycle happened when I took an MSI (Mountain Studies Institute) workshop here in Silverton way back in 2002. The instructor had one person stand in the center of a darkened room holding a single lit candle (which represented the sun). Another person walked around them holding a plastic ball that they tilted at the same angle to illustrate how the sun’s rays hit the earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres at different times of the year. The phase between Vernal Equinox (March 21^st) and Summer Solstice (June 21^st) brought a smile to my face. Simply watching the simulation as it unfolded made everything so clear to me.

The Northern Hemisphere of that plastic ball (representing earth) was slightly closer to the Sun, and thus receives more direct light. Thinking of that period between mid-March and the end of June, seems particularly special (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere anyway). Almost too sweet.

Here in Silverton everything seems to come back to life in that period between mid-April and Summer Solstice. This year in particular because we’re little by little emerging from a strange, hermit-like, existence that was the CoVid-19 Lockdown. One of my truly favorite things to do is ride my bike down the street on a cobalt blue-sky sunny day in May and June. I think it’s because I’m admiring all the renovations taking place around town. This leaves me with a warm, satisfied feeling inside. Actually, maybe that sensation of contentment is the sugar high from those cookies I just ate? The jury is still out on this particular situation.

I’ve become attracted to doing all sorts of strange jobs related to this change of season, and here’s just a few. Don’t ask why I enjoy doing this stuff, I just do. It’s part of the eccentricity thing, so get used to it coming from yours truly.

This summer in my job working for the town parks-n-rec. department, I’ve been tasked with taking care of the flowers growing in baskets as you go down main street. Giving them their daily ration of water, picking off the flower-deadheads, and otherwise keeping the plants looking good. Bizarrely enough, I’ve gotten into this strange habit of doing the watering job right as the sun is coming up around 6:15 in the morning. Partially because I want to avoid the blast-furnace-like conditions when forced to do the watering in the middle of the day, but partially because I like doing it. Getting up at 6:00 am to go to work, and he likes it? Like I said, it’s an eccentricity thing, get used to it.

I also enjoy mowing lawns. Some people think that’s just another prime example of my bizarre behavior showing through, but I beg to differ. You may be saying to yourself; wait a second, isn’t that a chore better left to high school kids, advanced technology robot drones, or possibly those highly trained chimpanzees? Yes, in certain situations getting someone else to do the job might be nice. In my case though, I derive this uncharacteristic attraction to cutting the grass. The satisfaction of looking at a beautifully manicured carpet of green outside your house never goes away. When the job is done, it’s a sure sign that summer is finally here.

Each day that passes in early summer means the daylight hours just keep increasing. Pretty soon you find yourself doing outside work at 8:00 in the evening. A totally unheard practice in mid-December and January. Unless of course you’re into freezing digits, working with the use of a headlamp, and multiple layers of clothing.

I often tell people who I hear complaining about the winter months, ”You’ve never experienced the sensation of skiing through knee-deep powder-snow, have you?” Yes, there are certain things I really enjoy about that time of the year, and that’s the big one.

On the other hand, one of my favorite James Taylor songs is titled, “Summers Here”. The last set of lyrics to the song pretty much sums up the entire piece. “Summers here, and I’m for that. Got my rubber sandals, got my straw hat. It’s my favorite time of the year and I’m glad that it’s here.” Yes indeed.