June 21st was the summer solstice, the longest day of the year – what we like to think of as the sun’s birthday. For millennia peoples have been observing the solstice (think, Stonehenge). At Monte Alban, a pre-Columbian site near Oaxaca city, there are 'zenith tubes' which illuminate subterranean rooms when the sun passes overhead on the solstices. Here in Portland, we’re simply grateful for the extremely long, sun-filled summer days. We do wish we could bottle them up for the winter. But since we can’t we try our best to simply enjoy them while they last. From here on out the days will be getting shorter, but there's still plenty of summer and daylight ahead.

June 22, 2015 — Mark Feldman
Tags: nature summer