June 2023
The bright rays of sunshine linger longer while the sun sinks into the western sky. Sunset colored red, orange, and golden light persists as the day progresses on these solstice-time-long summer days. Golden light comes into my west-facing house and deck, and I savor the sometimes hard-to-find sun rays in the foggy and temperate coastal climate we live in. They call these often occurring misty overcast June days, “June gloom,” or “Junuary.” As the sun and climate change heat up varied environments in areas of the world, we stay in a cool and consistently mild climate on the Pacific Coast of the North Coast of California. My Mother who lived in Oakland some 260 miles south of us for 20 years used to complain as she got older about how cold it was in the San Francisco Bay areas with the constant fog and humidity due to living next to a Pacific Coast climate. I think we are still cooler than some Alaskan cities and the Seattle area where I grew up. However, I will savor and enjoy the longer days, celebrate Solstice and the brighter slant of the sun, the vegetables growing in the garden, and the fruits on our trees. It is a pleasure seeing the bright green growing onions, broccoli, garlic, artichokes, the red fruits of pears and apples, and beautiful tasty blueberries.
I feel like our society is tentatively but joyously manically coming out of a difficult 3 years with Covid19 lockdowns since March 2020. It seems we all had to relearn societal accepted behaviors, and how to interact with people when previously we had to stay 6 feet away from them or be concerned about the airflow in a room, or whether their or my mask would protect us from the dreaded Covid virus. I had to gain confidence in feeling secure in greeting people up close, asking questions, and learning to chat with strangers and neighbors. I have received 5 vaccinations for Covid19 including the newest ones redesigned for fighting the emerging strains. I never got the virus and have steadily tested for it. However, millions of people have died worldwide, and I am very grateful for staying healthy. My husband never contracted the horrid virus but my son, his wife, and two children got sick. Luckily they are healthy today.
I worked locally part-time in two libraries Humboldt County and College of the Redwoods as a librarian fully masked and socially distancing; sometimes I would work from home during the pandemic. I have worked locally part-time since 2013. During the pandemci many people were attracted to books and information during the pandemic, they were isolated and gravitated to libraries for their varied collections. I was fortunate to have librarian work and enjoyed the questions and help I could offer the diverse public at the college and public library. But I have retired since December 5, 2021. Retiring created a relaxed freedom, but I personally struggle with validation and self-value issues, I feel like a forgotten generation. On a positive note, I try to be grateful, read, cook, garden, enjoy the grandkids, stay active and busy, and be thankful for what life now offers.
Librarian Musings 