summer solstice magic and music

it was like the day cast in magic light.

at the bookstore i worked with sharon, a wise woman who knows healing and herbs and energies.

sharon brought organic strawberries to share with me, and tiny silver forks to eat them with.

our friend noel came to visit with her new baby wyatt.

we got flowers from a local beekeeper gal, straight from her vigorous garden.

 

in the evening we went to play at lotus park down by the river with our friends.

in celebration, i opened a bottle of madrona wine, a delicious and refreshing dry riesling, that was a gift from our friend tim wright a couple years back. (i'd been saving it for the right moment!)

beauty. summer. skin. sunshine.

dogs. water. sparkle. dive. flow. grass. wine. run. wild.

 

the photos really speak for themselves, that feeling, oh how it kills me, flowing through me when the seasons change and making me know i am part of it all, we are all together, and every last little tiny particle glowing and hot and alive...is love.

 

 

now that it's officially summer it's time to start playing my very favorite summery cds.

(do you still use cds? i love them, especially homemade mix cds and tapes. i love records too, when they may be had.)

it's a hot night, the windows are down, your hair is going crazy and you can't stop smiling.  all you want to do is to sing along and be loud, and dance a little bit, it's beck all the way. my favorite summertime album of his is Guero. especially in "que onda guero" when somebody says, andale joto your popsicle's melting...totally reminds me of my childhood in escondido and so many other parts of my life. and when christina ricci says "please enjoy" in the song "hell yes." HELL YES!

a very old summer favorite is the welsh folksy band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. have you ever heard them? i just realized posting the link that they split up in 2006. well the best album for summer is called the Blue Trees, and the best sweetest summer song ever is "face like summer."

 

laura veirs' music makes me feel especially exuberant in that sunshiney way, especially her last two albums, July Flame and Saltbreakers.

 a couple summers ago i used to drive to the river all by myself listening to the song "don't lose yourself" and singing along like a madwoman and feeling like a million bucks, footloose and fancy free and in love with the world.

the only other album i have to mention is the new bon iver. i'm sure you've heard it and i hope it's making you cry in the good way. i never thought of his music as summery until now, and now i can't imagine summer without it. i hope it haunts me forever, and i hope it is a sign that this will be a summer like no other.

what's your favorite summertime album? 

i'm always excited to hear new heart-rendingly good music.

and happy solstice to you all! may summer proceed with gusto!