Happy Summer Solstice! 

Today, if you didn’t already know, is the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year for those of us living north of the equator. (So Happy Winter Solstice for anyone south of the equator.)

Although technically, the solstice occurred at 12:24 am EDT when the sun was directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer. But we’ll celebrate all day anyway.

Today we will have nearly 15 hours of sunlight (or at least those of us between 35° N and 40° N. It varies depending on your relationship to the equator whether you have slightly more or less sunlight).

So YAY! Lots of sunlight today!

And that’s my favorite thing about summer—hours upon hours of sunlight. Waking up in the morning and seeing the sun. Getting off work and there’s still sun. Taking a late evening walk and there’s still sun.

I love seeing the sun and the warmth of it on my skin. And this is exactly what I don’t like about winter.

But with the good, apparently there must come the bad. And I’m not talking about sunburn (although that does suck) or allergies (which also suck). No, I’m talking about the bane of my summertime existence—biting insects. Mainly mosquitoes.

I took my dog Dexter out last night to the dog run at my apartment complex. All so he could play with his tennis ball (his favorite thing to do). I stupidly wore shorts and forgot to spray any bug spray. And so within 15 minutes, I had no less than 8 bites.

Yes, you read that right. We walked out of the building a few minutes after 8:00 pm EDT. And in less than 15 minutes, I had at least 8 bites.

8 freakin’ bug bites

I’m like a mosquito-smorgasbord.

Needless to say, I cut his time at the dog run short and we hot-footed it back inside before I incurred any more bites.

So that’s my love/hate relationship with summer. I love all the sunlight. I hate the mosquitoes. And that’s why when I’m out and about in the summer, I opt to wear pants, even when it’s 90+° outside.

Stupid mosquitoes.

What do you love, or hate, about summer? What is your favorite season and why? Tell me in the comments below.