22 MAY: WELCOMING SUMMER
by contemplativeinquiry
Yesterday, 22 May, I welcomed summer. It was a hot day by local standards (28C/82.4F at its peak), followed by a slightly cooler evening. As I walked out to embrace the evening and the season, I noticed the hornbeam opposite our building in its full strength and magnificence. It matched the moment perfectly.
The two pictures immediately below show a garden in the middle of an urban square, where the flora also seemed to be welcoming the season. In the third picture, looking beyond the square to the east, the sky was clear, at 7.45 pm on this early summer evening.
Half an hour later, looking west from the Gloucester docks, I noticed the colour of the sky. Sunset would not be until 9pm, nearly an hour later. But the power of the waning sun was showing through the clouds.
In my last post (1) I wrote about the experience of late spring. This was less than a week ago, so the differences are subtle. Yet I am clear that a change I was anticipating has now occurred.
Giving names and dates to seasons is a somewhat arbitrary human practice. But it’s also an important one, even in a tec obssessed urban culture. It’s a recognition of nature and its primal power.
Contemplative Inquiry 