Summer Solstice Picnic

Dear Liza,

June 21 is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and the official beginning if summer. Here in Portland, it was also our first really warm day. We celebrated by making a nice picnic dinner and walking over to Laurelhurst Park.

We headed off at 6, which is late for dinner, but we still had more than three hours of daylight left. The low sun behind this Japanese maple was stunning.

We were surprised by how much mud there still was under the grass! Weeks of rain have made things very soggy. We had to search quite a while before finding a dry -ish spot.

When we were finally able to unpack our chicken salad, crackers, berries, cherries, veggies, and celebratory beverages, we settled in to watch and listen to the human show…. people on bikes, kids on scooters, dogs pulling their skateboarding owners, joggers pushing strollers…. you know, Portlanders.

Behind us, several folks played on guitars, and down the hill, a lone ukulele. It was marvelous.

But old bones don’t like sitting on the ground for long, and it was eventually time to go home.

We headed out of the park, thinking how lucky we were to be able to live in this pleasant corner of the universe.

Love,

Grandma Judy