MIDSUMMER'S NIGHT MAGIC, with LEIGH ANN HENION
- Jennifer Jewell
- Jun 19
- 5 min read
Have you ever heard of a Moth-er? Yes, it is the moth equivalent of a birder–someone who loves and follows and studies the incredible diversity of moths. Creatures whose lives benefit ours, and yet take place primarily under the cover of the dark of night.
In this week of the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere, in our seasonal period of longest days and shortest nights, we pause to consider and to revel even in the importance –the life-nurturing, life giving, and restorative magic of the dark.
Leigh Ann Henion is the New York Times Bestselling author of "Night Magic, Adventures among Glowworms, Moon Gardens and other Marvels of the Dark"–a beautiful road map (and flashlight?) for all of us in better knowing and appreciating the greater fullness of the lives of our places–especially those lives that bloom, grow, and come out at night.
Leigh Ann is with us to celebrate the magic of the night, even at its
shortest this week of the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. Based in the heart of Appalachia, Boone, North Carolina. In several years of writing and researching for her newest book, Night Magic: Adventures Among
Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Night, Leigh Ann discovered for herself the abundant life that comes with the dark in her region,
giving her a more complete and intimate knowledge of her place. She shares how she came to nature writing as her purpose in life.
Leigh Ann – Happy almost Summer Solstice–and welcome to Cultivating Place!
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All photos courtesy of Leigh Ann Henion, all rights reserved.Â
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JOIN US again next week, when guest host Abra Lee is joined in conversation by Richard Smith, the director of the School of Professional Horticulture at the New York Botanical Garden, advancing hands-on learning and fostering leadership in the green industry. At a time when we need our green leaders more than ever. That's right here, next week. Listen in!
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Thinking out loud this week...
Happy Mid-Summer’s eve on the 19th and Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere on the evening of June 20th .
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Did you hear Leigh Ann mention that she has a Masters of Arts Degree in Appalachian Studies?
Something about this really caught my ear. Because as any of you who have listened to Cultivating Place for any amount of time know, this sounds so similar to the way I view the role of any Gardener: to know, study, appreciate the fullness of their place more expansively as a result of their Gardening practice. If we are paying attention, if we are bringing our joy and taking good care in this longterm person + plants in their place elationship known as Gardening, then we too are learning from and about our climate, our geology, our hydrology, our seasonal weather patterns, the wild lives of our place, the formative human cultures and tenders of place, the environmental impact and benefits brought by our gardens. If we are paying attention and growing along with our gardens we too are working towards Masters Degrees in our particular places. I believe this conversation with Leigh Ann invites us to enter into the Night Garden unit in our studies!
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Enjoy this new lesson plan under your starry skies. We always have more to learn – together.
In going with this theme of Night Magic, I'm going to lean into events planned for the purpose of learning more and enjoying more of our night times in this season.
Do you know of events in your place being planned around the summer solstice?
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Here in my place of Chico, CA – our local Bidwell State Park is home to our fabulous Community Observatory, the amphitheater, and telescopes of which
they are open and staffed by volunteers Friday and Saturday nights, weather permitting. Managed by our Chico Area Recreation Department, CARD volunteers regularly host guided full moon and new moon hikes exploring nocturnal lives and their unique adaptations, the phases of the moon, and the beautiful evening sky.
Each hike features themed storytelling, weaving together myths, and legends about the constellations. How great is that? I will post links to this on our social media platforms and tag it #CPNightGardening – if you do the same for events in your area, we can all check in on them! https://www.chicorec.gov/hikes
In Night Magic Public Growing Announcements this week- let’s turn to our
leading advocate in this arena, DarkSky International, whom I interviewed on CP a few years back, their mission is DarkSky International restores the
nighttime environment and protects communities from the harmful effects of light pollution through outreach, advocacy, and conservation.
There are DarkSky International Chapters in nearly 30 states, each with their own resources for observatories, for dark sky maps, and for events. In Arkansas for example, the chapter is housed with the Arkansas Natural Skies Association which hosts a dark sky festival every fall.
In Ohio, in May, the city of Fairborn approved a Dark Sky proclamation the first in Ohio, which bodes well for more, incentivizing better and less night lighting and protection for existing dark spaces.
In Colorado there are multiple night observing events in June including on the 20th and 21st including Rocky Mountain National Park and at the Florissant Fossil Beds.
In California, the Joshua Tree Astronomy Arts Theatre is hosting a Saturn Rising Star Gazing and Learning Party August 9th !
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