Mid-summer Suite: Photos and Videos, a Poem! Slow Walk, Garden, Altar and Rain

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 Somehow I never finished this post celebrating the height of Saule/sun in the northern summer! At the Summer Solstice it is not yet the hottest weather here, maybe not the peak of vegetation, but the longest days, the high point of optimism in the season.

Photos were taken in the garden (always many hundreds more than I can ever use)-flowers, plants, bees; videos made; I took a contemplative walk on the farm and laid a celebratory altar (more photos and videos, naturally), then enjoyed a refreshing rain in the early evening.
 
I have other Solstice posts, where you can read more of my thoughts.
This one I'll leave mainly to the images and videos. Typically, I'll get videos posted before all the other stuff is up, so visit my YouTube page and subscribe if you'd like to see the latest. 

A patch of delicate flowers in the morning sunshine. Each flower has an upper bonnet of widespread purple blue sepals over a hanging skirt of white petals, blurred green foliage with pinkish rocks etc in the background

A single Columbine flower with classic form: the flower is pendant, so the top is the 'base' where it attaches to the stem, this part is marked by hooked spurs pointing to the centre; below that are flaring sepals and below that a skirt of petals. In this case all outer parts are pale coral orange with the inner skirt creamy yellow. Background is sunny blurred green.

I made a short video of bees in the rock garden in the morning sunlight. (as usual, all Spectra/Peertube links will be at the bottom of page). I included a short poem written for a previous summer:
 
fecund luscious verdancy,
reared by the sun,
imbued  with snow and rain
fed on the decay of rock and life,
it races to complete the cycle:
to grow and flower and seed,
to feast and be feasted upon
 

Before laying the Solstice Altar (previous video), I wanted to get out to enjoy the beautiful mild summer afternoon on Solstice Day. A short, slow walk on the farm, just below to just above 20C, sun and cloud. I stop to look at flowers and butterflies, listen to bird song and crow scolding. Beautiful day! Gentle music added to enhance the mood.
  
 

 
 
Then, the laying of the altar which celebrates the bounty and beauty of the season, and honours the spirit of Nature / Goddess / Divine / Earth and the Life force fostered by the synergy of sacred Sun and Earth.
The laying is slow and meditative, keeping the symbolism and personal meaning of each thing added in mind but also just relaxing into the moments. Feeling the sun, wind, noticing clouds coming and going, insects flying by or enjoying the flowers on the altar, birds singing and calling in the trees around.
 
 

 
 



A wooden table-like bench, around mid-thigh height and a bit longer, solidly made with a cross piece below the top for stability and reinforcing pieces at the bottoms of the legs/ends. It sits on mowed grass in front of a Linden tree with heart shaped leaves; there is a small pile of stones and weathered pieces of wood to one side.

The wooden bench is now generously covered with a number of potted plants- some in flower, some with varying textures, sizes and colours of foliage, bits of weathered branch and root as well as stones are placed between the pots, along with cut leafy branches and stems of many sorts and a few flowering stems. A couple of pots with foliage have also been places on the ground beside the bench.

A tangle of fine spiky green foliage and tiny star-like or snowflake shaped flowers, one plant with white one with pink

Tiny blue flowers with pale or yellow centres on delicate leafy stems rise from among much larger leaves of strawberry plants, with other ferny leaves behind. The light is a bit golden

A small pot full of bright green rather shiny leaves, roughly pyramidal in outline, divided into several lobes wich ar further subidivded and toothed, with distinct grooved veins. To the right is the foliage of another plant- like very fine light green grass, and behind just visible some tiny spruce branches. To the left a rough, wethered and hollow piece of wood is blurred and some of the surface of the wooden bench can be seen.

Later on, after a beautiful mildly warm day with a mix of sun and cloud,  we had some welcome rain! The perfect complement to the joining of Sun and Earth, Rain Mother delivered her blessing.

 



To the left, thin white willow branches reach at an angle toward the sky, toward the centre of the photo; Behind, tall dark green spruce trees, blurred, stand against a washed out overcast sky. Set against the dark trees we see myriad slightly back-lit drops of water falling.

A small Cranesbill with bright to deep green leaves nearly round in outline but deeply lobed and divided and 2 medium pink flowers plus a number of buds and spent flowers; behind and to the left is a patch of succulent rosettes with outer leaves coppery green, tipped with the deep wine of the centre leaves. Both plants are growing against a large rock to the right with a rough surface and speckled and veined with dark, white and salmony crystals. Everything is wet from the recent rain and the sun is coming through a little from the right rear, though it may still be raining lightly.

As I publish this, we are heading into Autumn. I hope everyone had a beautiful and fruitful summer and may the days ahead be kind and instructive to you!

Here are the Peertube ( a non-corporate model for video hosting) video links- same videos as above, often they are smaller files.

Summer Morning Rock Garden: Flowers Bees and a Poem 

Healing Slow Walk Alberta Summer Solstice Day Forest + Meadow Flowers Trees + Critters + Calm Music 

Summer Day-Solstice Altar: Flowers Birdsong Mosquitoes?  

Calming Summer Afternoon Laying Solstice Altar: Plants Flowers Bird Song Relaxing Music 

Life Giving Rain Summer Solstice Evening  

 

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As usual, if you love an image, it could be loaded to any of the print on demand sites as cards, prints, mugs, clothing etc. Haven't played with any of those for a while, hope to get back at them soon.


 

 

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