Summer Solstice weekend in Sussex

The season officially changed from spring to summer and this weekend it seemed everyone in Sussex was outside celebrating in one way or another.

The ball fields at Princess Louise Park were filled with bats and balls flying. The tennis courts were busy, as was the basketball court and the new pickleball space. Out in the fields, people were walking their dogs and the Show Centre area was hopping with both a Reining horse competition in the arena and a Cattle Penning event in one of the outside rings.

Parking in the general area was at a premium and it was the same on Main Street. Our small town was a happening place!

The beginning of summer is a busy time for our local farmers too. The one whose fields are nearest our home had spent the last several weeks having fields limed, fertilized, turned over and made ready for seeding. This weekend the first of the corn crops were bursting forth in the warmth and sunshine. Small sprouts today, but it won’t be long before they stand taller than me – fodder for his large herd of dairy cattle.

I didn’t get a photo because I was too busy watching – but a family of geese waddled through the yard between our house and our neighbour’s. There were two adults – one in front and one bringing up the rear – shepherding four or five young goslings. I’m assuming that they are nesting somewhere near the pond below our house where the beavers have built a large lodge over a period of years. Sights like this, and numerous birds cruising around, make me happy and glad that I live in a rural area as opposed to the oft (justifiably) maligned concrete cities.

Returning home from my walk I found a lovely butterfly feeding on the remnants of our lilacs. That season is over but other things will flower soon so they won’t go hungry.

Although I parted company with my “Millie Vanilli” RAD Rover 5 beast of a bike, she’ll be replaced next week with “Millie Vanilli 2.0” – a smaller and less cumbersome RAD Expand 5. That means I will be pedalling again next weekend.

To me, it looks like summer in our small town is off to a great start.