Happy Summer Solstice, folks in the northern hemisphere! Glad that it is the longest day and from tomorrow the days get shorter. Nice!
This was the hottest day of this year so far. I went bike riding and did a metric century on Farmington canal heritage trail.
As the election season comes closer, I am looking to cut out even the 15 minutes of news that I get during my morning commute. Found a radio station run by students at Connecticut College in New London. Music was good this morning.
Looking at the weather prediction for this upcoming week… it is nice to see that we are in that “place to be” sliver of southeastern CT. Hopefully, this prediction will turn into reality as the week progresses.
Went bike riding on some new roads on this Father’s Day. Such a perfect day to ride!!! It was high 50s when I started and 70F when I ended around noon. Couldn’t ask for a better day. These wild flowers are part of an effort to maintain habitats for pollinators.
Today’s Sun: A new large sunspot AR3712 has appeared on the Sun over the last few days. Hope it has the firepower to generate some Auroras.
A really long bike ride is in the plans for Juneteenth holiday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.
Found this in the mailbox yesterday. Thanks, @anirbanm@mastodon.social !!!
Now with both the kids back home from college, we went for the first hike of this Summer. Forgot to take a photo on the trail but remembered to do it after getting in the car.
Flipped the switch this morning to connect our newly installed solar panels to the grid. Doing our small part to reduce our carbon footprint. Will set up the solar company app this evening and start tracking the electricity these panels generate.
Daughter starting today as a Summer intern in a different department at my workplace. Looking forward to 10 weeks of carpooling.
Yesterday (June 2nd) Lyme Land Trust had organized their yearly fundraising event - Tour de Lyme. The weather was just fantastic with sunny bright blue skies. When I started out it was just under 60F but, was mid-70s when I finished the 58 mile route. As always there was a lot of climbing. I was hoping to finish this in about 4.5 hours but was pleasantly surprised to reach the end under 4 hours. It seems like every year they keep adding more food trucks at the venue. My favorite was the vegan sampler plate at the food truck from a restaurant in Branford, CT. I also had a couple of slices of pizza as I was starving after the ride. Overall, it was a great ride. Can’t recall if this was 10th or 11th but, I have participated in every ride that they had organized over the years.
Sunspot AR3664 that created the fantastic display of Aurora went around the Sun over last 2 weeks and is back. It is reduced in intensity and can be seen at the top left edge. Although it is not likely, I am hoping that it will create more Aurora in coming days. 
My kids always correct me for using these terms improperly.
Poison is a toxin that gets into the body by inhaling, swallowing, or absorption through the skin.
Venomous: it’s when the toxin is injected into you.
This is one of my most favorite spots on today’s bikeride. I have ridden by here in every season and found that it is different yet beautiful every time.
