Summer Solstice

With the longest day of 2014 now past us, I welcome summer with open arms and a radiant smile. Humans measure time as a way to quantify passages and changes that are beyond us, and yesterday was just one of those annual milestones that means everything and nothing at the same time. I love scrolling through my weather app at all the places I've lived and traveled to see what time the sun would rise; 5:31 AM in Honeoye, 6:40 in Dakar (Senegal), 5:10 in Canton, and so on. I'd like to think I made the most of my first day of summer. 

The evening before I played pick-up ultimate fribee with a new group just twenty minutes from home. It's a rag-tag group of people who went to high school together, but a few of them play with the Rochester summer league and they were generous enough to let me join. I had a fantastic time because everyone was friendly, hilarious, and skilled enough to be competitive but not egotistical. I also had a lot of disc-handling time which was nice because I need the practice. I also ran into my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew who was playing in a soccer match in the field next to us! Needless to say, the 585 doesn't seem that big once you've settled into a routine. 

Photo credit of this creek that runs along the park goes to my dad.

Saturday we took off to western, southerntier New York where my dad's aunt and uncle live. I've visited many times, though I finally received a full tour of their house that they've lived in since 1960(!) because they wanted to show us the remodeled bathrooms. They're such good-humored, lovely people. Here we have my dad and Uncle Dewane going through bamboo Filipino spears that were gifted to Dewane's father when he was a medic in the Philippines during WWII. The craftsmanship was incredible, I've never seen anything like it. There had to be at least 15 spears, and each one had a specific purpose, which we could only guess.

"I never took them out from the garage rafters because I thought my kids would use them against me!" mused Dewane.

They also have giant, kind cats and ornate gardens that attract golden orange orioles, red-winged black birds, wood peckers and more.

It was a beautiful day. As the sun set at nearly 9 PM, I sat back in the hot tub with a tumbler of Bird Dog blackberry whiskey (my god, did I go to lengths to get my hands on this stuff) and thought to myself: life is good.

Listening: "Tame One" by Your Friend on the Utne Reader music blog.