GRATITUDES:
1. A clear morning on the summer solstice
2. My kid’s talent and drive
3. One more beautiful day of life
4. My treatment resuming

I always feel a teensy bit melancholic on the summer solstice because I know that this is the longest day of the year, and that from now until the 21st of December, the days will become incrementally shorter and the light will slowly change. Right now, though, the light is bright, with a slight blueish tint, and almost directly overhead. The early morning sun peaks through the windows on the back of the house, the only time of the year it does so, and the late afternoon light does the same, shimmering on the walls of our bedroom and kitchen dining area. I mark the passage of the sun through the movement of the light; or more accurately, the passage of our beautiful, fragile blue ball as it makes its annual orbit around our closest star. I did the same when we lived in Burbank and was always surprised how dramatically the sun’s angle shifted throughout the year. The same is true here in Texas, although the change isn’t quite as dramatic due to our slightly more southern latitude. This also means that our winter days are incrementally longer, which is something to be happy about even though I enjoy the colder months. Heh. Yeah, right. “Colder” is definitely a relative term in this part of the country!

Basil continues to amaze us with their talent, which is blossoming into a formidable ability. Yesterday, after a bit of a rocky start due to technical issues, they hit the ground running and finished their first class assignment, a series of five drawings based on works by classic Impressionists and one more contemporary piece by Edward Hopper. Their drawing ability just keeps getting better and better. They have a more involved project due on Friday morning – I can hardly wait to see what they come up with!❤️

I have another big batch of kimchi happily percolating on the kitchen counter and a little time before starting dinner. Time to put up my feet for a bit and maybe go back outside to enjoy the afternoon sunlight filtering through our big oaks. Damn, I love those trees. They desperately need to be trimmed but they’re sooo pretty – all three are probably close to 50 feet tall and are somewhere around 30 years old. All seem to be very healthy, even in this drought, but I’m keeping an eye on them. If they show signs of stress I’ll begin deep-watering them. They remind me a bit of the native cottonwoods that I used to see along the Truckee river in Reno. Those were amazing – their leaves were a darker green on the upper surfaces and bright silver on the undersides. They shimmered in the sun! They always made me think of the Mallorn trees of Lothlorien that Tolkien described so beautifully in “Fellowship of the Ring”.

Lights out for this biped. It’s after 10:30 and WAY past my bedtime!😊