It’s technically not summer yet, but we’re not wasting any time. June’s bringing the heat, the mosquitoes and the humidity thick enough to see clouds’ shadows in the air even at midday.

Humid evenings are part of my definition of summer, because so many memories are tied to walking around in them: walking around neighborhoods with my dad during the Fourth of July, walking home from a run, walking back to the dorm from college band camp. The summer solstice is the 21st, but humid evenings mark the season enough for me.

I took my camera to Fayetteville’s First Thursday, a combo art walk and festival at the square. The light was dying at the time. I’ve shot so many photos there, I started to wonder if I’d make anything new and worth sharing. Stupid thing to think, really — the question is catching the new things, not whether they’ll be there in the first place. I relaxed and let some images reveal themselves. They might still be mediocre, but I hope I caught a spark here and there.

Other than that, I have a few shots of the local wildlife of my apartment complex, including an odd little display from another orchard orb weaver. You know I couldn’t resist when I saw a ring of 6-inch-wide mushrooms.

Thanks for looking,

Dan