June 21 is the Summer Solstice, Pet Dad's Day and National Selfie Day!

 

Mom is going to a Solstice today!  Besides being the Solstice and Dad's Day and Selfie Day it is National Indigenous Day in Canada.  When the International Boundary Line was being surveyed in 1857 - 1861, the major portion of the large Indian band then living in the area moved to the reservation at Colville, Washington. One of the Indians entwined two sapling pines saying, "Though divided we are united still - we are one." This tree symbolises the the spirit of friendship existing between Canada and the United States.

 For many Indigenous Nations, the solstice has long marked a time of gathering, ceremony, harvesting, renewal, and connection to the land. Indigenous Nations hold and continue to carry forward ancient relationships to land, sky, water, and seasonal cycles. Different Nations have distinct teachings and traditions for the solstice, but common themes include:

• gratitude to the Creator,
• honoring the cycles of nature,
• community gatherings,
• songs, dances, and feasts,
• and passing knowledge between generations. 

Mom is going to a local Pow Wow to celebrate the Solstice and says she will enjoy the drumming-both hand held and the "grandmother drum", the Dance competitions the colourful Pow Wow dance costumes, the ribbon skirts and the bannock!

 

Pet Dad's Day 

 

Mom is wishing  is Happy Father's Day to her Dad - Ed! This is a photo of him enjoying the FIVA Football Games! (Not bad moves for a 92 year old!)

National Selfie Day

Nutmeg and Marvelous at Boundary Falls! 

XX

Selfie Day! Take YOURS on June 21st! AND Indigenous People's Day!

 

 You know what’s really annoying? People and pets who take selfies all day. They always have these amazing profile pics and look utterly fantastic. It’s like they took thousands of images to get just the right one and it’s so frustrating!

I, Marvelous admit it, I AM jealous! I can't take such a perfect selfies! Mine always come out looking like they were taken by a pigeon landing on a discarded camera. (Don't tell my pigeon buddy--Feather Locklear--She is a wonderful furrend to help because you kind of need thumbs...

More about selfies:

In 2014, BBC officially declared a National Selfie Day, which amusingly heralded a sudden decline in selfies, AND interestingly, there was a similar drop after the Oxford English Dictionary added ‘selfie’ to its pages. Apparently making something official is a terrific way of making sure no one wants to do them anymore.
Anyway, we LOVE Selfie Sunday over at The Cat On My Head

 

 and here are some captions for your next 12 Sunday Selfies!

1. Sunday: Sleep until you’re hungry, eat until you’re sleepy. 
2. Forever in a Sunday state of mind. 
3. Sunshine and good times are what Sundays are made of.
4. Starting the new week with a heart full of Sunday memories.
5. Hello, Sunday! Let’s make some memories. 
6. Blissful vibes and Sunday drives. 
7. Sundays are for fun stories, smiles, and sweet serenades.
8. Sundays are for soulful songs and sunset strolls. 
9. Laughing our way through Sunday like there’s no Monday.
10. Sunday checklist: Eat, Laugh, Repeat! 
11. Sunday vibes: 99% fun, 1% thinking about Monday. 
12. When life gives you a Sunday, turn it into a fun day.  

My Selfie

Here in the Great White North, it is National Indigenous People's Day too!

In Canad, today we recognize and celebrate the traditions, cultures, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. It is the most significant day of celebration for National Indigenous History Month. The image has 3 illustrations: an eagle representing First Nations, a narwhal representing Inuit, and a violin representing Métis. These illustrations are placed around the sun and surrounded by multicoloured smoke that represents Indigenous traditions, spirituality, inclusion and diversity.

National Indigenous Peoples Day takes place on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. For generations, many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities have celebrated their cultures, languages, and traditions at this time of year. The summer solstice holds deep spiritual and cultural significance for many Indigenous Peoples, marking a time of renewal, connection, and celebration. 

Mom is hoping to go to a local PowWow. We will stay home and imagine the smoked salmon, bannock and the dancing!

National Selfie Day and The Summer Solstice!

 

 

Selfie Day! 

Taking a selfie predates social media, smartphones, and the word itself (which is now in the Oxford Dictionary), the popularity of taking these self-portraits keeps increasing. AND taking them gets easier all the time. I have to admit that Selfie Sunday at the Cat On My Head has been around a long time so we have had a whole bunch of practice! Just look at the one Cinnamon and me took at Lake Louise! Mom took a picture of us while we were taking it so we thought it was PURRFECT for the Selfie Day Badge!

Leave us a comment and we will stop by and see yours!

Summer Solstice

 The Summer Solstice has been celebrated by Peeps for thousands and thousands of years and this year (as we do every year), Mom will celebrate the longest day of the year by taking a walk barefoot in the morning dew --it actually is a May Day ritual, but quite often in the mountains where we live, its too cold! So mom does it on the solstice!

If the sun is shining, she will have at least a half hour sun bath when the sun is at its highest! And if she can, she will make a flower crown! Usually Cinnamon is the one who wears it. 

And she makes rock mandalas in the garden

 

Starting from when Nellie Bellie was still writing Mom painted some rocks with mandalas for furrends. And she thinks she will do more this year (if she has time, a new young dog means that 2 dogs get walked separately so Mom does not get all tangled up, Dolly is still learning how to walk on a leash properly). If she does, I will take some selfies with them!

 Speaking of new young dogs, here is a shot of Cinnamon and her new protegee playing Ball with Mom!

Please tell us if you guys do anything special on the solstice! 

Keep being AWESOME guys!