Pine Mountain Trail Conference

06/08/2026

06/07/2026

06/06/2026

6 nights from now, the two brightest planets in our evening sky will appear almost side by side.

Every night this week, Venus and Jupiter are moving closer together in the western twilight.

Tonight the gap is still obvious.

By June 8–9, many people will step outside and think they are looking at a double star.

They are not.

One is Venus — brighter than every star in the sky.

The other is Jupiter — a world so large that more than 1,300 Earths could fit inside it.

The approach happens slowly enough that you can watch it night after night with your own eyes.

And something else is joining the story.

Mercury is climbing higher above the western horizon and heading toward its best evening appearance of the year.

Three planets.

One sunset sky.

Six nights remaining.

Save this — the best night to observe is June 8–9.

06/06/2026

June's night sky changes more than most people realize.

It begins with a planet that many people have never knowingly seen.

Mercury is climbing into its best evening appearance of the year, becoming easier to spot night after night above the western horizon after sunset.

A few days later, Venus and Jupiter draw close together in one of the most beautiful planetary pairings of 2026.

Then the darkest nights of the month arrive.

The New Moon opens the door to deeper summer skies, the Milky Way begins returning to prominence, and the June Solstice marks the official beginning of summer across the Northern Hemisphere.

Before the month is over, the Strawberry Moon rises above forests, lakes, coastlines, and quiet countryside skies across North America.

Six dates.

Six reasons to step outside.

This guide is designed as a simple sky calendar you can return to throughout the month.

Save this before June slips away.

06/06/2026

That low spot in the yard that stays muddy after rain and never fully dries — most people fight it. They fill it with gravel, pipe it to the street, or just avoid it.

It's the single most productive planting zone you have.

A shallow depression the size of a parking space, planted with the right natives, becomes a rain garden that supports frogs, dragonflies, toads, salamanders, and pollinators all summer. It filters your roof runoff before it reaches the storm drain. And it fills itself for free every time it rains.

🌿 Three zones, three plant lists:

- Center (wettest) — blue flag iris, cardinal flower, marsh marigold, buttonbush. This is where the frogs breed and the dragonfly larvae develop.

- Middle (moist after rain) — Joe-Pye w**d, swamp milkw**d, boneset, turtlehead. Butterfly and bee magnet all summer.

- Edge (dries between rains) — black-eyed Susan, New England aster, switchgrass, bee balm. The transition strip that ties the rain garden into the rest of the yard.

The wet spot was never a problem. It was a habitat waiting for the right plants 🌱

06/06/2026

Congratulations to Shane Mullins (and Zeus…aka Jésus) for his many hours of stellar (not ambiguous 😉) trail work on the Birch K**b Section of the Pine Mountain Trail.

06/06/2026

PMT Volunteer Hike and awards presentation to Shane Mullins.