Solstice

 Well, the sun rose at 4:49 this morning and will not set until 21:20. It is the Summer Solstice, and I was pleased to find that no Druids were dancing around our garden as the sun rose. Realising that we were Druid-free, I went back to sleep and had a lie-in until 07:00.

I had a Zoom call with the cousins. There were only 6 of us today as Sarah was having trouble connecting, Maggie was on a narrowboat somewhere up north, and there were various excuses from other usual attendees. The call seemed a little less lively than usual, but maybe the heat was affecting people.

Diane retired to her sewing. I spent some time on Ancestry, checking recent hints for close relatives. As I had expected, most of them were actually nuggets of information that I had created originally. It is worth checking, though, you never know what might crop up. I then headed off for a walk. It was hot and quite humid, but I kept up a good pace as I looped around the estate and then diverted onto the old highway to Shripney and back. I noticed the goats (in the field by the electrical substation) were huddled in the shade and not as frisky or inquisitive as usual. Evidently, they don't like the heat.

Back home, I grabbed some lunch and then retired to the Orangery for some Kindle time. I had no sooner sat down than it started to spit with rain. I brought the washing in just in time as the spits and spots turned into a ten-minute deluge before drying up as if nothing had happened.