Oh, How I Love Sunshine!
We now have 24 hours of visible light. The official length of day is about 19 hours, but it doesn’t get completely dark any longer. I’ve woken as early as 3am, and the view outside my window looks like dawn - or dusk - with enough light to be able to see my yard clearly. With Summer Solstice only about a month away, our days will continue to lengthen (approximately 7 minuter per day) until the sun never goes below the horizon.
The longer days have brought intermittent sunshine. We’ve had several days of constant sunshine, and several days with heavy clouds overhead. But even on the cloudy days, the sun has managed to find its way through and warm us - if only for a few moments at a time. As for real warmth, however, it’s been fairly nonexistent.
When I wake in the morning, the thermometer reads mid-30s or low 40s. We turned our heat down to 57 about two weeks ago, and on cold mornings I quickly make my way downstairs, dance across the cold wood floors, switch on the space heater, start a pot of coffee brewing, and then burrow under an afghan on the sofa. The cat usually joins me there, as she is not a fan of the cold either.
As the morning hours pass, the house warms up, the sun shoots light beams through the trees in our yard, and I go through the morning ritual of throwing open all the curtains and blinds to invite the light in. This is my favorite part of the day: bright sunshine, a mug of hot coffee, my cat at my hip, and my dog at my feet.
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A couple of days ago, I took Sedona with me to run errands and our travels took us to the other side of town, to a park on the Tanana River. I don’t visit that park very often, but when I do, I’m always drawn to this home which is perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the river. I do believe I’ve photographed this scene in every season. I’ve often thought about leaving a note in their mailbox, asking them if I can see the view from their house. I imagine it must be stunning.
This particular day, the clouds were thick and dark at times. But despite the clouds, there were moments of blue sky showing through. Periodically, the sunshine found a way to split the thick clouds and bring some light to an otherwise dismal day.
