I took some pictures yesterday, some Summer Solstice pictures. There are no pagan feasts or frenzied dances. These are pictures of the Solstice in the mountain, things I saw around outside, which to me speak of summer.

Here’s some:

Here’s some more random summer pics.

One of the nicest, yet underappreciated, ways to spend a bit of time is to watch the moonrise.

You can only catch a good moonrise a few days a month, that makes it more special than a sunrise. Plus, there’s something romantic about the moon, the night, the cool breeze, the gently swaying branches of pine and cedar.

I watched the moonrise last night, sitting on my deck letting the gentle glow bathe me as it arose over the trees. Of course, I was alone last night watching the moonrise.

There’s something spiritual about the moon, the night, the cool breeze, the gently swaying branches of pine and cedar. It provokes prayer and quiet, soothing the soul’s aches, and reminds a scorched spirit there is indeed a profound beauty in this world.

I took a picture. Of the moon.

Out on the deck reading a bit of Dostoevsky, listening to robins, and finches, and jays, and chickadees. That was a good part of my day.

There was the occasional distraction, such as watching this flicker dive into the hillside, looking for a choice beetle. He must have found a bug motherlode, because he was at it for a while.

I’d post the picture with his head in the hill, only I now realize why flickers are colored the way they are. They blend in when they’re at work. The picture looks like a hillside, not a bird with half his body in the hillside.

Here’s a picture of a nice ground iris growing wild in our yard. How I really enjoy enforced natural landscaping. No lawn to mow, and occasional, native, surprises in spring.

Wandering by while I was reading a book outside…

It’s Spring, which means I’m seeing some visitors who spend much of their time in other parts of this world. Among my rare visitors is this fine fellow, a black-headed grosbeak.

racoon, here for an evening drink