patch of sky to stare at watching for birds - or just clouds.
Here’s an easy way to celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
1. Go outside.
2. Lay in the grass.
3. Look up at the sky.
4. Count the birds that fly by.
You can also cook out, go for a walk, or just be outside. Oh, and because I’m posting this late [I ended up going outside at sunset to have a glass of wine with my husband, and we talked for a while], it counts if you do it all tomorrow too.
Today was also officially “Hike Naked Day”. A lot of folks who thru-hike the Appalachian Trail participate, at least for part of the day. Did I take part when I hiked, you ask? Well, very briefly. You can find the story here. The short version is that I took about ten steps in the woods naked. But I was alone and thought it would be potentially sending the wrong message if someone came up to a random naked woman hiking alone in the woods, so I chose not to be naked for very long! I think if I’d been hiking with other women that day I might have been a little braver, but I’m glad I did it for just a moment, with the birds and squirrels as witnesses!
Back to laying under a tree and counting birds. I did it earlier this evening, staring at a steely sky that threatened rain. We need the rain so badly, I don’t mind that it’s been cloudy and increasingly cool on the longest day of the year.
I was rewarded with plenty of bird song – doves, mockingbirds, swallows – and several different birds flying overhead.
Here was my view:
See the tiny dot in the sky? It’s not a piece of dust on your computer screen. It’s an egret. Here – let me crop the photo real close and show you:
See?
Oh, plenty of the birds flying past were much lower and closer, but I didn’t get any shots of them.
I also enjoyed just staring up at the pine tree. This photo isn’t in black and white – it was just a dark afternoon.
Do you have summer solstice traditions? How do you celebrate the official start to summer?
No summer solstice traditions- yet! I had better think on it.
Pick something fun and easy!
Ahh, now we are talking
The solstice tradition is big here in Sweden, even though we have kind of adjusted it over the years. Every friday of the solstice week is a national holiday where everyone celebrates. Our version of the may pole is decorated with leaves and flowers, women and children put crowns of flowers in their hair and then the crazy singing and dancing starts. After a healthy dose of embarassing dancing ( like trying to imitate jumping frogs ) we eat and drink…some like to drink more than they eat !!! As the nights are just as bright as the days this time of year it is really a great time for celebration where everyone is trying to soak up as much light as possible before winter comes. Personally I like to make my own little ceremony on the actutal day of the midsummer solstice- Mother Earth is truly beautiful in her glorious green costume and I feel it’s a magical day to give thanks for all the blessings in my life. Oops…sorry that I rambled on for so long…but sending you some happy midsummer blessings 
Sounds beautiful! Happy summer!!! I want to go to Sweden sometime – in the summer, for sure!
Yep, summer is the best time to visit Sweden, unless your into silly things like skiing and snowmobiling
Let me know if you ever make it over here, I’ll let you know what places to visit and which ones you should definitely avoid….and if your going further north of Stockholm you’re always welcome for a cup of coffee 
Thank you! I will let you know if we get up your way – we don’t have any plans yet, but a world trip may be in our future – I need to say it will be in our future so that it happens!
I love this! I need to start more simple traditions/rituals for myself!
Sounds good! I love creating little rituals that make me smile!
I usually get up to watch the sunrise, try to spend as much time outdoors as I can during the day, and then watch the sunset and marvel at the light parade brought to us by the fireflies. I missed the sunrise, but otherwise, I pretty much stuck with my traditional ritual. AND we got an amazing lightning display as a bonus.
I love the idea of lying in the grass and counting the birds. Sounds like a good Friday or Saturday ritual to me.
Sounds wonderful, Robin. I think the bird watching is a good ritual when things feel frantic or there’s been too much time on the computer. So nice to just lay in the grass, even for five minutes! I like your idea of making it a weekly ritual!
I love your photos… You know, I was out and about on the 21st and it didn’t seem any longer than any other summery day… Oh well!
That’s not surprising, Elizabeth! The longest day is just one or two minutes longer than the day before and so on, so it’s not that noticeable. But from here on out the sun will rise about a minute later and set about a minute earlier, all the way until December 21, the shortest day of the year. It happens so incrementally, it’s hard to notice!
Your tree photo was terrific! And the fact that it is in ‘color’ makes it all the more impressive.
As for hiking naked – you are brave! I agree, I think for safety sake, probably better that you didn’t tromp around the woods nude and solo for too long; but to even do it at all – I tip my hat to you!
Thanks, Stef! Yeah, naked solo woman hiker – not such a good idea! There were a bunch of women thru hikers all around me that day, in front and behind – some of them used bandanas or leaves or duct tape to cover key areas – I think one group was brave enough to take a sort of naked “Abbey Road” pic at a road crossing – I wish I’d been there for that!