Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Sunset People



Having stole up to Arcadia for a freezing cold Winter Solstice celebration last December, the bloggerette and I book-ended the extending daylight of the past six months with a visit to the UMass Sunwheel, for a balmy Summer Solstice gathering.



The gathering was gathered by the the time we got up there; and we made haste to find our spots on the grass amid the circle of stones that make up the Sunwheel.



At the center of the wheel was Astronomist Dr. Judith Young, armed with a globe and Jar Jar Binks action figure, in mid-lecture about the cycles and angles of light dancing between Sun and Earth.



The crowd was mostly laid out on the grass and basked in the glowing, golden twilight of the longest day of the year, rapt with attention to Dr. Judith's teachings...





While behind us, the sun quietly completed it's mission for the day.



The final moments of light had arrived.



An impromptu strain of "You are my Sunshine" broke out as Dr. Judith formed the crowd up into a line. Most everyone took a turn standing in the middle of the wheel to line up their own eyes with the Solstice marker stone and setting sun...



...and really, to take a turn welcoming back the Summer.

1 comment:

Mary E.Carey said...

Beautiful shot of cows in the field!