June

Farewell to the merry month of May, although here in Seattle the wet weather kept our spring spirits damped down. It's been a cool and rainy month across the entire Northwest, but at least June sounds more like summer, even if the weather doesn't show it, yet. We spent the holiday weekend in eastern Washington and it was wet there too, although we lucked out with a sunny day when we went for a hike and to a community rodeo with Amanda, Tom and Nova. I'll post some pictures later in the week--Nova just keeps getting cuter, if that's possible!

So, on to June. Our next Book of Hours manuscript page shows a harvest scene in front of the Palais de la Cite, the rich duke's castle. To the right is the Sainte-Chapelle, a gothic church in the heart of Paris. The early June harvest must be the first cutting of hay. Looks like men did the scything, and the women raked the grass into stacks. Sounds like pleasant work on a warm afternoon, right outside the city walls of Paris.

In medieval art, the phrase Labours of the Months means the rural activities that commonly took place each month. The scenes are linked to the Zodiac, and seen as humankind's response to God's ordering of the Universe. At the top of the June miniature, the Gemini twins and Cancer the crab now lead the Zodiac chariot into summer.