Day 172 - 20th June 2012 - Cat doors, Birdhouses and Painted Turtles

Daylight is coming, another day has arrived, temperature is +13.6. I see a busy day ahead.
Today is the first day of summer or Summer Solstice. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac:

Each year, the timing of the solstice depends on when the Sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. This occurs annually on June 20 or June 21 in North America, depending on your time zone.

The word solstice is from the Latin solstitium, from sol (sun) and stitium (to stop), reflecting the fact that the Sun appears to stop at this time (and again at the winter solstice).

In temperate regions, we notice that the Sun is higher in the sky throughout the day, and its rays strike Earth at a more direct angle, causing the efficient warming we call summer. In the winter, just the opposite occurs: The Sun is at its southernmost point and is low in the sky. Its rays hit the Northern Hemisphere at an oblique angle, creating the feeble winter sunlight.

Had a good Tuesday, lots of stuff done, museum in the afternoon in search of photos. A walk after supper.

 Looking down Charlotte Lane towards Dock St. and the harbour.

Found this cute whirligig in someones yard this morning. 

I've heard of cat or dog doors in houses, but I've never seen a cat door in a fence before. I just love this! Christina you would like this!

Saw these cute little birdhouses on a veranda.

I think they are a great idea!

Not sure what has attached itself to this daisy.

My wildlife last evening was a painted turtle!

A nice close up of his face!

He was pretty patient and let me take lots of photos. He's much cuter than those snapping turtles took pics of a few days ago.

So I'm just about ready to switch over to manual mode on the camera. I've been spending some time getting used to it before work, lunch time and after supper. A feel for the weight, etc. and looking over the manual itself. Well time to get things moving here this morning.

Enjoy your day.