Summer Solstice

June 21, 2022

It's the longest day of the year (here in the Northern Hemisphere). In the photo above, from this morning, the sun is just starting to peek out over the big chestnut tree in the backyard. In the Celtic Wheel of the Year, this is the pinnacle of the Samos/masculine half of the year.* In some traditions, the Sun is associated with masculinity and the father (and the Moon with femininity and the mother). It's appropriate that Father's Day happens around the summer solstice here in the US.

In the lifecycle, the summer solstice corresponds with 'coming of age.' I love this connection between the Sun, reaching it's fullest expression, and the act of becoming. It reminds me of the lines from an Andrea Gibson poem, I Sing The Body Electric; Especially When My Power Is Out:

...
I said to the the sun
“Tell me about the big bang”
The sun said
“it hurts to become”
...

I love this particular line, but there's a lot more packed into that poem, and I recommend reading it for its own sake. Below are some sun/star inspiration from the garden: a Hopi Black Dye sunflower bud, a rosehip, and Queen Anne's Lace bloom.

*from Claire Davey's "The Cosmos Inside Us" series. blog and archive here.

I believe that we all embody masculine and feminine energy, and both can be expressed positively or negatively. I'm thankful that I have men in my life who modeled a healthy expression of masculinity to me, and for the next few weeks, I intend to look for these out in the world and embody them myself:

curious - boyish - undaunted - adventurous
fierce - protective - tender - loving - wise - steadfast

I know I'm leaving many other healthy masculine characteristics out and would love to hear your thoughts on the matter...

On another note, Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot, Daucus carota) has SHOWN UP in the garden this year (c. 2022). It's the biggest one I've ever seen. Neither Meg nor I intentionally planted her there, but I did wish for some to grow near the house. And there she is, really taking up space! I know she's here for a reason, maybe because we need her medicine right now.

You've probably noticed that I like photographing these quilts outside to show the seasonal changes in light and foliage in the background. These are usually taken near my home, but this time, I happened to be at my home-place, the family farm where I grew up when I finished this one up. It was also Father's Day - very appropriate for this particular quilt.

This one might be my favorite in the series, so far. All of the fabric is salvaged, a mix of tablecloths, napkins, & linen bed sheets & pillows. The pink and orange fabrics are naturally dyed with madder and osage orange. I did purchase proper quilt batting for the middle, so this quilt has a little more texture than the others. When planning the design for this one, I tried to think of basic representations of summer. The sun is an obvious one, but picnic blanket checks and primary colors also came to mind.