HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SUMMER, 2021 -- IN CLEVELAND, OHIO

From now until the first day of winter on December 21 – the days will keep on getting shorter – and then start getting longer – in an endless dance in a mysterious universe.

 

Enjoy the summer – it will officially end on Tuesday, September 21.

 

The yellow flowers, in the lead photograph, are from our front lawn which faces the south side of Jefferson Park. They are wild flowers – they just showed up, to my delight, for the first time this year -- a few weeks ago. Not knowing their name – I went to the Internet and checked that they look like Evening Primroses (growing both in the wild and in flower beds) – but not exactly in behavior. Evening Primroses open up in the evening – stay open all night – and then close during the daytime. The flowers shown – stay open during the daytime (see #1) and start to close-up in the evening (see #7). There are nearly 370,000 species of plants that flower. I will keep on researching for the correct name. But then “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” -- quote from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

 

Attached Photographs:

#1 (the lead photograph) shows yellow flowers in full bloom in our front lawn – on the south side of Jefferson Park – photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 12:56 p.m.

 

#2 shows Smokey (back) and Gingy (front) -- mother and son – our two outdoor cats and my constant companions – relaxing in our backyard – photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 7: 03 p.m. – shortly before I went out to play solo tennis. Galena, our golden retriever with a curly tail, now at the Rainbow Bridge, kept them company for many years.

 

#3 shows lilies along West 133rd Street, opposite the tennis courts – photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 7:14 p.m.

 

I was on my way to play one-hour of solo tennis. I play with nine balls – one for each of our nine planets – hitting them with a force which I hope would send the balls on a trajectory around our planet – but alas – the force of gravity plummets them down every time. The exercise I get in hitting the balls back and forth – is enough to spend the night sleeping like a baby.

 

#4 shows the dazzling sky over Jefferson Park’s tennis courts -- photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 7:35 p.m.

 

#5 shows the sun setting over Jefferson Park’s tennis courts – along West 133rd Street -- photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 8:22 p.m. – 41 minutes before actual sunset at 9:03 p.m. The park was literally abandoned. While the storm in the early afternoon dumped half an inch of rain – the courts were bone dry.

 

#6 shows the three-quarter full moon over our house on the south side of Jefferson Park -- photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 8:36 p.m. – 27 minutes before actual sunset at 9:03 p.m. The full moon (a supermoon) is scheduled for June 24.

 

#7 shows the yellow flowers closing-up in our front lawn – on the south side of Jefferson Park – photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 8:37 p.m. – 26 minutes before sunset. While the sun had not actually set – it was beginning to get dark.

 

#8 shows a view looking-up and through the twin tall maple trees in our vacant lot – (our neighbor’s house and our house – both on Cooley Avenue – are the only two houses among nearly 60 houses around the park – that have double lots – where the second lot is a vacant lot – planted with trees, shrubs, and flowers – for our pets to romp around) photographed on the first day of summer – June 20, 2021 at 9:07 p.m. – 3 minutes after sunset – a reminder of how trees look like – after sunset.