The longest day of the year. However, the days start getting shorter from here. Makes me want to stay up all night!

I am surrounded by elderflowers and their intoxicating scent. I have to hurry and enjoy the cool of the morning on the deck with the flowers, an iced coffee, and a cheese pastry. This is my little solstice celebration.  Later the heat index will probably be 110 degrees Fahrenheit!

An elderflower.

We’ve been stuck in this heat wave for more than a week now with heat indices over 105°F almost daily. The sheep have done well, but they are tired of the heat and the flies. I’ve been kicking them out of the barn on really hot days, forcing them to go camp under the solar panels or an oak tree – both have way more airflow. I feel like under the array or the oak trees is a lot cooler for them and there are less flies. Sometimes sheep make bad habits and one of those is seeking out the barn in extreme heat.

Here is the temperature and humidity under an oak tree at about 2pm in the afternoon. I had just come from the barn – the high temperature shown here at 100.2°F. So, there is a significant difference between a shady, barn with high speed fans versus tree shade, grass, and an unimpeded wind.

With this plethora of elderflowers I am inspired to make use of them in some way; to capture the day in a bottle. I shall call my creation “Elderflower Solstice”. I can’t decide if I want to make elderflower cordial or elderflower liqueur. Maybe I will make both.

Elderflowers in the wind.

Wishing you a cool and wonderful Solstice!