Summertime, and the livin' is easy

Sunrise earlier today: 5:29 am
Sunset later: 8:58 pm

Add to that a few additional minutes of the early light before the sunrise, and the twilight after the sun goes down.

The longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.

It is summer solstice.

Source

A slightly depressing thought--from now on, the days will get shorter and the Sun begins to move south towards the equator! On the other hand, my brother, who lives way down under, is perhaps delighted that the shortest day of the year is history and from now on the days will get only longer and longer ;)

When we learnt back in the 8th or 9th grade about earth's tilt and the seasons, it was merely an intellectual idea for me.  After all, in the real world in Neyveli, which is about 11 degrees north of the equator, life did not change much with the "seasons" that the book said happened because of the tilt.

Growing up in Neyveli, and spending summers even further south,  I was familiar with only three seasons: hot, hotter, and hottest!  Now, after having spent most of my life outside the old country, I am convinced that there were only two seasons--one was HOT, and it rained during the other season :)

But, that hot season worked well because, as kids, we don't know any better.  The real difference was between school days versus holidays, which meant doing nothing, or climbing up mango and tamarind trees, or biking all over the place, or playing cricket, or fighting with my brother while doing any of the previously listed activities ...

The change in seasons here in Oregon, on the other hand, well, it is magical.

The cold, damp, and dark months yield to spring when green shoots and flowers appear.  And then summer explodes around the Fourth of July.

When it does, the endless days seem to go on for ever and ever and ever.  We even begin to complain about the heat.  We turn the air conditioners on.  We search for relief in the cool waters of rivers and lakes.

Just when it seems like we can't take the heat anymore, the cooling arrives.  We begin to appreciate why fall is just about everybody's favorite season.  We catch our breath.  The rains begin.

We embrace the first few rains like how we don't let go of a long-lost friend. And then the rains keep coming. And coming. The days get shorter and colder and darker.

We do this year after year.

May we live through a lot more solstices!