Summer Solstice

 Today is the summer solstice. So the official or astronomical first day of summer, although in my book the season truly starts with the month of June. Be that as it may, we're in a heatwave, with temperatures going up to 30 degrees today. And it is the longest day of the year. The horror, the horror. I don't like summertime, I don't like long days and I don't like heat. I know, I'm a strange beast, I'm weird, but I know I'm not alone. So yes, I am not really in a great mood today. If only it was a cool and rainy day, it would be bearable, but no. There is one thing, and truly one thing I like about the solstice: once it is over, it means that the days are going to get shorter and shorter. It's going to be long until we feel it, but it gives me some level of solace.

A Solstice Wolfism

Okay, so we are not the 21st of June, but apparently from what I read today is the summer solstice. The first day of summer, officially, although for me it starts with the month. Moreimportantly, it is the longest day of the year and one I usually dislike. Because yes, a day that never seems to end is kind of the stuff of nightmare for me. But I see the silver lining and the glass one quarter full: it means days are getting shorter, although we will not see it (or feel it) until a long time. Last year, Wolfie gave us his own take on the solstice, which I thought was brilliant. It is worth mentioning it here as a new Wolfism: "I like it because it means school days are getting shorter." That may not be strictly accurate, it is nevertheless quite sweet and the right attitude to have.

Vague de chaleur au Québec

 Oh, il y a parfois des moments comme celui-ci où je suis content d'être expatrié. J'apprends dans la grosse Presse qu'il y a une vague de chaleur au Québec. Une sans précédent en juin. Ici, il fait chaud, mais ce n'est pas encore insoutenable: en fait, le mercure ne monte pas beaucoup au dessus de 20. Et c'est le solstice aujourd'hui, même si on n'est pas encore le 21... J'espère que les températures vont baisser d'ici à ce que juin finisse. Au Québec comme ailleurs.

The longest day of the year

Today we are the 21st of June, therefore the summer solstice,the longest day of the year. For me, it is the longest day of the year in many ways: I find summer days very long and I long for the evening for the light to dim. So the longest day of the year (literally) is also to me the slowest day of the year as well. And it is a long, long day. I am dreading the weeks to come, however I find solace in the fact that once this day will be over, summertime will slowly, slowly wane.

"Summer Lovers Be Like..."

 Today is the summers solstice, the longest day of the year Which I always take as both a blessing and a curse: it is a high point in the season, but it means that it is the beginning of the end for it. Sitll, we just got out of a heatwave and there is another one building up. So me not happy. But to cheer me up, or at least make me smile, I found this hilarious meme online. I think it sums up perfectly how absurd I find summer lovers sometimes.

Highs and Lows of Summertime

Yesterday was the summer solstice, according to some sources. But I read other sources, including the Wikipedia entry, saying it is today. Good, because I pretty much missed it yesterday, being Father's Day and all. But in fact, it feels like summer missed solstice this year: after a week or so of hot weather, temperatures dropped dramatically and last weekend I had to wear long sleeves shirt to be warm enough. It is still the case today, as they are forecasting the highest teperatures to be 14 degrees. In June. On the day of the solstice. Because it has been mostly cloudy these last few days, the days don't feel like the longest of the year. So summer might be passing smoothly, at least for a while, which I can't complain about. I prefer low to high temperatures and I love when the sun goes down earlier rather than later.

Short Solstice

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and one I have most ambivalent feelings about. To put it shortly, I don't like long days and the sun going down late in the evening. This year, the long summer days have been bearable, mainly because they have been relatively cool overall and because they have often been cloudy. Read this post for more details. In any case, it means that, to a degree, daylights have been relatively dim, as if we have a shorter solstice, so to speak. Which I cannot complain about.

Summer wanes

We are the 21st of June today, the day of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and for some the true beginning of summer. I generally blog about it every year (my best post was this one if you are interested) and today is no exception. We have been having a very good summer so far, at least the kind of summer I consider good. I hope it stays like this: just warm enough, not scorching hot, pleasant. If for many summer starts, for me the solstice represents its solar peak: from now on it will slowly go down and evenings will be closer and closer. And as an autumn man who loves cooler temperatures and earlier evenings, that are a call to rest, I am happy with this. There is something a bit melancholic about the solstice, come to think of it.

Autumn getting (slightly) closer

I don't know if it is because of the recent heatwave, but it seems that since the summer solstice the season's ungodly tropical weather burned out completely. It is still warm, it is still summery, but you feel it far less. And since the longest day of the year, evening is coming a tiny bit earlier. We will only see the change much later of course, but with the drop in temperature it made me more aware of this and it gives you the illusion that autumn is nearer than it is. But autumn is nevertheless getting closer, ever so slightly. I mentioned in March a countdown to autumn. I am very much living it at the moment. The recent ordeal of the heatwave was truly midsummer, the peak of the season. There might be more of course, but it will not spoil my enjoyment of the cool breeze I felt this evening and its promise of things to come.

Summer starts, summer ends

I know my readers have heard this confession before, but I must say it here: since my professional life is not based on the school year, I don't like summer much. Too hot, too sweaty, too sticky, too uncomfortable and, worst of all, the nights are far too short and thus I sleep too little. Back when I was living with my parents, summer was idyllic: with the swimming pool most of the downsides of the season were alleviated. And I could just relax all day. Nowadays... Well, all this to say that today is the summer solstice. The official beginning of the summer, although let's be honest here, summer truly starts with June, not with the solstice. The solstice is in fact midsummer. I actually welcome midsummer. It is the longest day of the year, which means the days will gradually, slowly, imperceptibly for a good while, get shorter. So it is in a way the beginning of the end. And this, ironically, makes me appreciate summer more.

Strawberry Moon

Yesterday was the summer solstice, which I blogged about here. It was also the full moon and more precisely a strawberry moon. Which apparently means the full moon of June closest to the solstice. Apparently a strawberry moon meeting the solstice is a unique event that happens rarely, once in a... strawberry moon? But after last year's blue moon, blood moon and other variations of full moons, I wonder if the ordinary full moon is not the rarest occurrence. All the same, like many other suckers, I took pictures of the strawberry moon and decided to upload one, the least bad one, on Vraie Fiction. Because it is still a full moon and I love them.

Summer Solstice

Today is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the official first day of summer (although for me summer starts with the first day of June). Like last year, I decided to commemorate on this blog by uploading a picture of the mystery play my family and I saw at the medieval festival of Visby in Sweden. We visited Sweden a bit more than twenty years ago and I think a lot about my time there these days.But this picture is fitting for the solstice for two reasons: 1) like for the imagery mystery play, Midsummer has roots in Pagan folklore, with its display of fire and demons and monsters, in sum primitive forces of nature and 2) I was never so conscious of summer lights as in Sweden. We visited it in August, but all the same the sun was up very, very late. I never felt as much in summertime as in Sweden that year. it also happened to be one of the warmest and driest they had in history. But in any case, the summer solstice reminds me of this mystery play.

La paella de papa

Bonne Fête des Pères à tous! Je ne savais pas trop comment le souligner et rendre hommage à mon père, puis je me suis dit queje peux montrer ses talents de chef. J'ai donc téléchargé une photo de la paella qu'il a cuisinée récemment. J'ai déjà blogué sur sa paella dans ce billet, où vous trouverez également une vidéo montrant la recette. C'est un menu très estival. Comme nous sommes aujourd'hui le solstice d'été, je fais d'une pierre deux coups, même si ce n'était pas vraiment mon intention. C'est un adon, comme on dit chez moi.

Je n'ai malheureusement jamais eu l'occasion de manger de sa paella. Il s'est découvert un engouement pour ce met relativement récemment et je n'ai pas mis les pieds au Québec en été depuis 2009. Mon père a toujours beaucoup cuisiné et il aime essayer des nouvelles choses. J'imagine que l'image du père maître du barbecue est un cliché, mais mon père en plus est curieux et créatif. Alors voilà, c'est mon modeste hommage.

Midsummer

I have learned rencently, on one of the internet forums I sometimes go to that we are or we are near Midsummer, which is more or less the equivalent of the Summer's solstice. Which means today. Or tonight. The longest day of the year. In Sweden, Midsummer's Day is celebrated on the 24th of June, but from what I understand around Scandinavia it is more or less from June 21st until the the 24th. It is celebrated with old rituals which roots are deep in Paganism. To commemorate Midsummer and in a way to kick start the season I thought I would upload a picture of the mystery play I saw in Visby, during the medieval festival there. A medieval mystery play, the longest day of the year, summer in full bloom, it is a fitting image.

Le solstice (et la Gaïa des Mosaïcultures)

C'est le 21 juin, le jour du solstice d'été. Le début officiel de l'été donc. C'est du moins le cas d'un point de vue astronomique. Je considère le tout début de juin comme le vrai début de la saison, sinon la fin mai. Cela dit, il faut bien souligner la journée la plus longue de l'année, surtout qu'il fait aujourd'hui un soleil splendide (lire: on va le voir que c'est le solstice). J'ai souligné le printemps en avril avec une photo de la Gaïa des Mosaïcultures, je pensais qu'elle serait parfaite pour le solstice. Je la montre donc sous un nouvel angle, avec un faon qui mange dans sa main. Ca fait très estival. Tiens j'irais bien me promener aux Mosaïcultures aujourd'hui, si je pouvais. Et vous, comptez-vous célébrer le solstice?

Solstice

English below. First bilingual post in ages...

C'est le solstice d'été aujourd'hui. Enfin, c'était. La journée la plus longue de l'année. Je suis demeuré dehors aussi longtemps que je le pouvais ce soir. Nous avons été chanceux: après un début nuageux, il a fait un soleil splendide le soir venu. Et comme c'était le solstice, le soir a duré longtemps. L'été a été modeste jusqu'ici, mais il semblerait bien que ce soit l'été.
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 It was the summer solstice today, the longest day of the year and what is officially the beginning of summertime, although I consider summer to start with the first of June. The day did not start off good, as it was cloudy and cool. But then, when evening came, it was sunny and it remained so until. Well, until nighttime came, and as it is the solstice it came late. So summer seems to be here at last.

One year already

Today is the first anniversary of my current job. A year ago, I had started it, wondering what was going to happen. I was getting back in the private sector after many failed attempts to make a career in education, I was uncertain and unfamiliar about my new working environment and was very nervous. I had no idea where I would be in a year's time. To be honest, I am sometimes a bit surprised I made it to permanence.For the first six months, I felt like a fraud.

Today is much different than a year ago: there is no heatwave, I am of course familiar to the place and the work and it was just another day at the office instead of the first day. To be honest it is not my dream job, but I like it much better than I thought I would and it is maybe the best working environment I have been in. And after the disappointments and bitterness of the jobs I had before, I cannot complain.

Les saisons ne se ressemblent pas

C'est le début de l'été aujourd'hui. L'année dernière à la même date, il faisait une chaleur toute estivale. Cette année, il vente, il a plu toute la semaine dernière (mais pas aujourd'hui, ce qui est inusité) et sans faire froid c'est tout de même frais. J'ai déjà eu des mois de juins plus froids, mais j'en ai déjà vécu de plus chauds. C'est comme si, avec le mois d'avril estival qu'on a eu, il fallait maintenant devoir gérer avec un mois de juin qui prend des allures de septembre.

Ca pourrait être pire. L'été 2007 a été épouvantable ici, à toutes fins pratiques inexistant. Ca a duré jusqu'au mois d'août, où on a eu droit à quelques semaines de beau temps. Et au moins ce n'est pas jusqu'ici collant comme l'année dernière, où je n'arrivais plus à dormir. La fraîcheur amène aussi un certain confort. Cela dit, pour les changements saisonniers, il faudra repasser. J'ai moins envie de me baigner que l'année dernière.

Blank mind

I am blogging while it is still the 21st, but will schedule this post for the next day. It is the first day of summer and in spite of the heat I barely noticed, because it is the first day of my new job. Nothing to say but that it is as exhausting as a first day usually is. My mind is blank, got no idea about what to blog about for the near future, I can't concentrate on anything, but the pain in my body leaves me no doubt: I am alive. Somehow, I find this reassuring.

J'en ai oublié l'été

J'écris ces lignes le 21, mais ce billet ne sera publié que le lendemain. Premier jour de travail, donc. Je n'aurais jamais cru que ce serait aussi épuisant, même si je n'ai pas fait grand-chose à part lire des documents. Je suis rentré épuisé. Demain, même manège... J'en ai oublié qu'aujourd'hui c'est officiellement le premier jour de l'été.