Summer's Fall

Here we are. It's September 3rd, two days from Labor Day, the official start of all things fall...like the start of a new school year, apple picking, pumpkin picking, Halloween, and last but certainly not least, the rerurn of cashmere in our closets. The Sun appears to be in a different position in the sky. Leaves are beginning to shed from trees big and small. And though it may still be hot and sunny, the days are a little bit shorter--the nights, a little bit cooler.

But summer doesn't officially end until the 22nd of this month: The autumnal equinox is September 23rd at about 3:09 EST. The day of the equinox, the Sun spends as much time above the horizon as it does below. The word "equinox" comes from the Latin "aequus" for equal and "nox" for night. because night is equal to day. 

The equinox is the moment when the Sun is on the same plane as the Earth's equator and can be seen vertically overhead. It only happens twice a year--March 21/22 and September 22/23. And, it marks both the beginning and the end of summer. Oh, thou bittersweet equinox!

If you live at a 45-degree latitude in the Northern Hemisphere, summer is far too short; winter, far too long. Summer's fall is a sad moment indeed. Oftentimes, people salve their summer wounds with thoughts of winter holidays yet to come--but I'd trade all the holiday-flash to extend my time in the summer Sun. The fall and winter sunshine is wonderful, always--but barely gives enough time for anyone to convert much needed vitamin D (which is thought to help with weight loss as well as increased bone density...and we could all use a little more of both, couldn't we?).
And light, particularly sun light, is a form of positive therapy for those with Season Affective Disorder as well as things like depression.

In the next 20 days, take as much time in the sun as possible. Soak it up. Put away your iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, Droids, Nooks, netbooks, and other indoor paraphenalia. Turn off your television. And get outside! Yes, you can still enjoy winter sports outdoors--but it's so much harsher and can be dependent on things like windchill, which can drop a given temperature by as much as 25-degrees (farenheit) or more. Hard to breathe in those conditions. Wind storms are particularly popular at higher latitudes in winter with global warming trends--which, by the way--does not always mean a temperature increase but is a consistent message of more extreme weather phenomena, a pattern we've all unfortunately witnessed in the last several years. In other words, while you'll still see the sun as the weather turns wintry, your opportunities to be outside, to connect with nature, and to get the sunlight your body needs to survive, are fewer and farther between than in the summer season. Not to mention that everything is dead or dormant in winter. When all you see is a blanket of white covering the brown remnants of flowers and plants--it's a very different visual from the lush green and brights and fullness of summer. 

Summer isn't perfect though. The heat and accompanying humidity can be so oppressive in some areas of the world, that it effects those with (and without) respiratory disorders. The extreme can even cause death. Of course, so can the extremes of winter.

So yes, I grieve deeply for summer's fall. Very deeply. But as with the spring equinox, it is important to recognize that while the days are shorter and nights are longer--each day, we make a little bit more progress toward a sunnier season. Each day, if you practice observance (see previous entry "Observance"), you'll note that the sun's position in the sky shifts just a little bit. Where there was once shadow, there is now light. And by the end of February, the dark days are barely dark at all. Another cycle begins.

Summer's fall is the beginning of an end but as with all endings, there is a new beginning beckoning from the shadows of a wintry grey sky. Don't bother with hope, fear's twin. The universe is much larger than that. For, while we experience fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere, below the equator, spring and summer begins!

My best wishes to all, dearest readers, for easy endings and successful beginnings!