Solstice, 2024

I mentioned the upcoming solstice briefly in my last post and we have now just passed it.  You may or may not be particularly interested, but here goes a bunch of pictures regardless. 

I read that groups of people gathered at Stonehenge and greeted at the sun as it rose.  In place of giant rocks, my view of the sun is from between trees.  

This is a picture of the sunrise on the day before solstice.  I took it because I didn't trust the clouds, and my instincts were good.  On the 21st, we had a solid bank of clouds obscuring our view.  As it is, the sun is rather indistinct in this one.  

The following sequence was taken on the morning of the 22nd, the day after. 

As I said, I can't view the sun's appearance from between giant rocks, but these two trees are a great substitute in my opinion. 

Notice the high-flying birds. 

Above the other end of our balcony, almost straight up, the Moon made itself available for a photoshoot as well. This next picture was taken at about 5:55 a.m. on Dec. 22, 2024.  

I hope that you've enjoyed this quick look. With an elevated, east facing balcony, Jeanne and I have come to regard viewing the rising sun as a sort of morning ritual. Well, a ritual that we take part in when we feel like it, anyway. Sometimes one or the other of us stays in bed a little longer. The weather needs to cooperate of course, but when we do join the sun at dawn, we always toast the start of the day with coffee.   -djf