Solstice

 

Last night 9:50 pm

We don't usually get to see spectacular sunsets because we have a big hill to the west of our house.  But this weekend is the solstice and this was the view east out my 'office' window, last night at 9:50 pm.

At this time of year the setting of the sun means a long lingering in-between of not full daylight but far from dark.  According to one weather app we currently have about 17 hours of daylight.  Of course the opposite happens in winter - about 17 hours of dark.

As we wend our way through the cycle of the pandemic, we are currently (here) fairly safe.  Most of my (local) friends have gotten at least one vaccine dose, many of them their second.  Or at least have their second booked.  

But there are lots of places where things are not going well.  Yesterday I found out that Yukon is having a surge of cases again, which is very concerning, given their geographic remoteness and limited health care options.  Fortunately they are also among the most vaccinated as the federal government recognized that aboriginal communities were being hit hardest and mobilized the military to help with the vaccine rollout, during winter, in the far north.

But it was a reminder that the course of the pandemic can change in a moment as new variants come.

The sooner everyone in the world gets vaccinated, the better.

Climate change continues to bring extreme weather.  Tropical storms are more severe.  Heat indexes have had to be revised - upwards.  While it is hard to focus on more than one emergency at a time, we cannot overlook the fact that climate change and new diseases may be linked.

Generally I call myself a pragmatic optimist.  There are days when it has been difficult to stay optimistic in the face of so many...'interesting'...things going on.

So I take a step back from time to time and regroup.  I try to keep weaving - except my body is having issues with doing stuff right now.  

In a few minutes I need to collect my thoughts and get ready for another Zoom presentation.  If I can at least keep teaching, keep helping weavers to understand the craft, it doesn't so much matter if I can't make it to the loom myself.  I guess.

But for me weaving is also about maintaining my mental health.  So I curb my irritation at a back that hurts and try to show myself the same compassion I would show to others.

In the meantime I have books.  The weather report says summer has arrived.  Finally.  I will focus on taking the good where I can find it, even if it means a deep dive into the clouds to find the silver lining.

Stay safe.  Stay well.  Stay covid aware.