Sunset: 8:59 pm
Add to that the 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.
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Of course, I am on a permanent vacation after my former employer laid me off. But, hey, summer is summer whether or not I am employed ;)
Down under in Australia, where my brother lives, it is the winter solstice. He 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 about seasons and about earth's tilt, it was merely an intellectual idea for me. I suppose that might have been in the 8th or 9th grade. It was mere textbook knowledge because in the real world, in Neyveli, seasons did not change dramatically the way the book said happened because of the tilt.
When we learnt about seasons and about earth's tilt, it was merely an intellectual idea for me. I suppose that might have been in the 8th or 9th grade. It was mere textbook knowledge because in the real world, in Neyveli, seasons did not change dramatically the way the book said happened because of the tilt.
Neyveli is about 11 degrees north of the equator. Grandmas' villages, where we spent our summer vacations, were further south at about 9 degrees north of the equator. The four seasons that I knew and experienced in all these places were hot, hotter, hottest, and rainy, which did not match with winter, spring, summer, and fall ;)
As kids, we didn't care. The real difference was between school days and holidays. During the summer vacation, life was about climbing up mango and tamarind trees, or biking all over the place, or playing cricket or badminton, or fighting with my brother while doing any of the previously listed activities, or simply doing nothing.
It has been decades of living far away from the old country. Just a few miles up the road is a sign along the interstate freeway that notes it is halfway between the equator and the north pole. After having acclimated to this mid-latitude, it now seems to me that there are only two seasons in the old country: A long HOT season, and rains during the other season!
The change in seasons here in Oregon, on the other hand, well, it is magical.
The cold, damp, and dark months of winter yield to spring when green shoots and flowers appear. And then summer explodes around the Fourth of July.
When summer comes, the endless days seem to go on for ever and ever and ever. In a short while, we begin to complain about the heat. We turn the air conditioners on. We search for relief in the rivers and lakes. We flee to the coast, seeking refuge by the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean.
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 change in seasons here in Oregon, on the other hand, well, it is magical.
The cold, damp, and dark months of winter yield to spring when green shoots and flowers appear. And then summer explodes around the Fourth of July.
When summer comes, the endless days seem to go on for ever and ever and ever. In a short while, we begin to complain about the heat. We turn the air conditioners on. We search for relief in the rivers and lakes. We flee to the coast, seeking refuge by the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean.
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. A long-lost friend has returned. 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!
We embrace the first few rains. A long-lost friend has returned. 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!
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