This is the second time this essay has been posted. It first saw the radiant light of publication in June of 2014 when it was published in the local newspaper and subsequently made it onto the blog around that time as well. This is its first appearance on the Website since the initial blog posting on 6/13/14. We’re totally into summer and it feels great!!                                                                    Word count: 675

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 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 between March and June, and thus received more direct light. Thinking of that period between spring and summer it seems so 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. A lot of the commercial buildings and houses in town go through this amazing tranformation. Outdoor repairs are made, a fresh coat of paint gets put on buildings, and new roofs are installed. 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 that bowl of ice cream I just ate? The jury is still out on this particular situation.

The Iron Horse Bicycle Race phase between Purgatory and Silverton had to be cancelled this year because of inclement weather (a yucky mixture of rain/snow and wind in the valley-solid snow on the passes). A number of people here in town complained about this. I chose to take an alternate stance and saw a silver lining attached to the edge of those grey skies. All that added moisture when it finally did stop (on the Monday of Memorial Day ironically), helped to produce this unbelievably green landscape. It looks sort of like all those pictures I’ve seen of New Zealand and Ireland. Only in this case we’re just a hop, skip, and a jump from the surrounding desert. How cool is that?

I enjoy mowing lawns. Some people think that’s just another prime example of my bizarre eccentricity 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 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. Plus you’re getting rid of all those remnants from last winter. When the job is done, it’s a sure sign that summer is finally here. That pile of snow on the north side of the house may still be there (until June 1^st-particularly in Silverton), but it’s slowly disappearing.

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.

One of my favorite James Taylor songs is titled, “Summers here”. The very last melody line 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.”