New Moon and Mercury Retrograde

My Lady Friend and I drove across the Great Plains, the Rockies, the High Desert, the Mogollon Rim and finally to the Grand Canyon and back. There will be virtual views, of course; but first, let's look to the sky:

The Moon conjunct with the Sun in Taurus at 10:23 p.m. on June 14, projected from Northern Illinois. Note Mercury in Gemini, which will begin its three-week retrograde swing on June 15. Many astrology writers mention a Sun-Moon conjunction in Gemini and the retrograde beginning in Cancer, but you know I don't play that.

New Moon is always a time to clear (or at least clean up) your table in order to move forward with new plans and tasks for the Moon cycle ahead. With MercRet in effect at practically the same time, one can see a real need to put things in order before taking that next step (backup data, recheck facts or plans, reconsider what you want to achieve, revisit an old project, etc). Since we returned from our trip a few days early, it'll be good to have the time to unpack, straighten up, and tend to concerns around the house.

Speaking of tending to things, here's what the Concentric Garden looked like before we left and upon our return.



Not sure what's up with the long herb bed at lower right and the empty-looking flower bed toward the upper left. But, as the motto of New Mexico states: Crescit eundo ("It grows as it goes.")