Seasons

The Before 8 O’Clock Sunset Arrives

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As the sun sets at 8 PM,
August’s halfway mark, a gentle gem.
Earlier sunsets on the horizon we spy,
Altamont Fair’s lights will soon light up the sky.

Summer’s ending, autumn’s near,
Harvest season whispers, so clear.
Earlier evenings, a curtain’s embrace,
More time for slumber, a slower pace.

Let’s seize the moment while it’s here,
Cherish the daylight, hold it near.
Stock up at the market, fill your cart,
Pumpkin pies and crisp days, a work of art.

Autumn leaves will soon paint the town,
A symphony of colors, all around.
With the harvest’s bounty, we’ll be fed,
Nature’s tapestry, a canvas well spread.

Earlier sunsets, a shift in the game,
Less time for play, but life’s not the same.
Embrace the change, let it fill your sight,
As we dance in the golden, fading light.

Let’s seize the moment while it’s here,
Cherish the daylight, hold it near.
Stock up at the market, fill your cart,
Pumpkin pies and crisp days, a work of art.

The nights grow cooler, stars shining bright,
A touch of nostalgia in the fading light.
The Altamont Fair’s a gentle reminder,
Of endings and beginnings, a season’s binder.

Earlier sunsets, a trade-off we find,
More time to reflect, to unwind.
Embrace the shift, let your spirit fly,
In the hush of dusk, under the twilight sky.

Let’s seize the moment while it’s here,
Cherish the daylight, hold it near.
Stock up at the market, fill your cart,
Pumpkin pies and crisp days, a work of art.

So as autumn draws nigh, let’s not forget,
The magic in endings, as sunsets beget.
A season of change, of beauty and grace,
Tonight is the 8 PM sunset’s embrace.

Hillcross Pond - Catskill Mountains

When is the Midpoint of Summer? – Farmers’ Almanac – Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life.

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When is the Midpoint of Summer? – Farmers’ Almanac – Plan Your Day. Grow Your Life.

The midpoint of summer, officially on August 7, 2023, marks the halfway point through the season, with daylight gradually decreasing since the June 21 Summer Solstice. At this juncture, the Sun's direct rays move southward, leading to earlier evening darkness. Summer, spanning from the Sun's 90 to 180 degrees of longitude, reaches its midpoint at 135 degrees longitude, aligning with August 7 in 2023. A traditional midpoint, Lammas Day, falls on August 1 and signifies a harvest festival, originating from Old English "loaf-mass." This date has shifted over time due to calendar adjustments. Notably, the true midpoint between the June solstice and September equinox for 2022 occurred on August 7. The decline in daylight becomes more pronounced in the latter part of summer, as the Sun's path and hours of sunlight diminish. With autumn's onset on September 23, daylight dwindles significantly, offering about 1 hour and 54 minutes less light in Philadelphia since August 7. This transition prompts seizing the remaining summer moments before colder temperatures and shorter days prevail.

Earlier Sunsets Come in August

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In August’s grasp, the sun descends, With earlier hues, the day transcends. A canvas painted, skies a blush, As daylight wanes in gentle hush.

Sunsets sooner, a soothing sight, A tranquil pause before the night. A gift bestowed, the moments deep, In twilight’s arms, the world takes sleep.

Yet, in this change, a silver thread, A chance for dreams to be widespread. Extra slumber, a cherished boon, Restoring strength from sun to moon.

Though park’s allure and bicycle’s race, Seem lost amid time’s fleeting embrace, Remember well, as darkness cloaks, The beauty of dreams, as daylight invokes.

So trade the rush for peaceful rest, Embrace the night, and be truly blessed. For in the quiet, the soul’s rebirth, We find in sleep, a priceless worth.

Warning! Summer is an Endangered Species

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“They say that all good things must end some day. Autumn leaves must fall.”
– Summer Song, Chad and Jeremy

Today starts the first weekend of August, the final full month of summer. We very well may have some hot and balmy days well into September, but the reality is the very short season known as summer is rapidly fading into history. Those delightfully long summer days with their balmy heat are rapidly starting to fade into the rear mirror. It’s not say that we won’t have hot and humid summer days in August, but the reality is hottest weather on average, is well behind us.

The days are rapidly getting shorter. The longest day, with dusk not occurring until well after 9 PM is now just history, gone soon after the calendar officially said summer. Now every day gets shorter – maybe only a few minutes each day, but its still fading away quickly. Now that I’m done with grade school and college, the significance of Labor Day weekend, in a few weeks, is not as big as it might have been in years past. But still the tyranny of the calendar can not be overcome – summer will be overcome by fall then quickly winter in a matter of weeks.

Quarter

Peak color will overtake Moose River Plains three weeks after Labor Day. The highest peaks of the Adirondacks will see falls beauty even quicker. Fall in lower elevations comes a little later – maybe mid-October, but even those dates are not that far away. Those colors are like the yellow on a traffic light, warning us all that winter is not far around the corner. Indeed, by the time we see fall’s beauty, it may very well dip into being pretty cold.

I like fall, and I am sure many of you do too. But it’s coming much too fast, as it always does. Please, get out and enjoy Summer 2023, before it’s too late. There will be future summers, but there will never be another Summer 2023 in our lifetimes. We all will be a year older next summer, and the we all will have changed, regardless what pretend to do.

NPR

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Recent deadly heat waves fueled by climate change, new research finds : NPR

The life-threatening heat waves that have baked U.S. cities and inflamed European wildfires in recent weeks would be "virtually impossible" without the influence of human-caused climate change, a team of international researchers said Tuesday. Global warming, they said, also made China's recent record-setting heat wave 50 times more likely.