It is still summer -- just saying

How can it be September already?
While Labor Day Weekend is an unofficial end of summer and the beginning of football season kind of marks the start of fall -- neither of those things is actually true.
IT'S STILL SUMMER!

In fact, if we're going to use artificial markers for the end of summer/beginning of fall then I say when I've put my lawn mower away for the year marks the end of summer. That won't be until mid October. I'll keep the flannel shirts in the closet and the pumpkin spice on the pantry shelf for a little bit longer. You fall loving people can do whatever you want, but it is always summer in my heart.
For anyone that actually cares -- the astronomical end of summer is on September 22 at 1:19 PM CDT. 

And although it is still growing season in SWMO, I do need to prepare some of my flowers for the coming cold season. I'll be dividing my iris and peony plants and am looking for another place for some hydrangeas. I also need to get some more mulch down in the big flower bed. I'm still figuring out how to best cut back and contain the large Rugosa rose bush.
There is always an unending amount of work to do in the flower gardens. 
If anyone is looking for some hostas to get planted and rooted before winter, let me know. I need to thin mine out -- either now or in the early spring.

This first week of September will be a little cooler than normal, so I should be able to get lots of outdoor work accomplished.

Have a grand week!

John

Summer!

Well, almost.
A little more than an hour past sunset in the Midwest the earth and sun will reach the summer solstice point for the northern hemisphere. That makes this the longest day (daylight) of the year. 

Summer is my season.
I'm not particularly outdoorsy, and I don't do anything special to celebrate or enjoy summer. Mostly I just sit on my butt and enjoy the warm, sunny days. It's weird that I enjoy being outdoors without really doing anything outdoorsy.

I won't lie -- sometimes mowing and caring for our yard and flower beds can be a pain in the arse, but I do love my quiet morning coffee or evening cigar while looking out at this view.

I'll be out watering and weed-eating in a little bit. I am going to try to get work finished in the mornings before it gets too hot. I'm not usually successful because I do enjoy my morning coffee and quiet time a bit too much. 
Enjoy the Summer Solstice.
Enjoy the summer season.

Here's an old favorite of mine to usher in summer.

John

Clear skies for tonight!

I missed a meteor shower  earlier this month due to overcast skies, but it looks like there will be clear skies to view the moon occult Mars early this evening, Most of the US will be able to observe the moon passing in front of Mars tonight. How long the occultation will last will depend on where you are and the effects of lunar parallax. 

You can read about it here for more information and approximate times.

I do love watching the night sky as it changes throughout the year. It is more enjoyable when it isn't so dang cold out. 

John

Celestial Irony

Today is the day that the earth reaches perihelion, the closest point to the sun in its annual orbit. 
From the Greek peri -- meaning near, helion -- meaning son.

It also marks the beginning of some extremely cold weather here in the US Midwest. I suppose we should be glad that we are not faced with the summer heat that our southern hemisphere friends have. It is a good thing that we humans are an adaptable species.

Although we use 24 hour days, the actual time of each day varies slightly as we make our elliptical orbit around our sun. And our earth's spin is slowing down! As the moon orbits the earth, its gravitational pull is actually slowing our rotation. It (the moon) is also inching farther away from the earth.
Science -- it is pretty amazing.

I may check and compare weather conditions for our counterparts on the other side of the globe from time to time. 37 degrees north latitude covers a lot of land and people around the globe, while 37 degrees south latitude touches relatively few. 
The line cuts through Chile and Argentina in South America, is farther south than the entire continent of Africa, just hits the southern most parts of Australia, and runs through the capitol city of New Zealand.

Currently it is about 1:30 on Sunday morning in Melbourne, Australia and 76f (24.4c).
Here it is just 8:30 on Saturday morning and it is just below freezing.
I doubt that Melbourne will be below freezing six months from now on July 4th!

It looks like it will be overcast all day in the Ozarks. In spite of the fact that we are closer to the sun than we will be all year, it doesn't appear that we will get to see it today. Groucho and I will have to count on the fireplace for warmth.

John

Fun Facts for your Friday

Maybe this is what's meant by not seeing the forest for the trees, but on a much grander scale...

At its closest, Uranus is 18.6 AU (Astronomical Unit, the approximate average distance from Earth to the sun) to the planet Earth. 1 AU is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) and we found this distant planet before finding an entire continent on our own planet!

     * * * * * 

Here's an interesting map that divides the Earth's population:

I find this truly amazing.
Even being aware of the crowded populations of India and China did not prepare me for this graphic. It's difficult to comprehend.

John

Star gazing

It's just before sunrise and a brisk 45 degrees (7c) out here on the deck. 
Brrrrr....

I was pretty excited to see comet C-2023 last night. If you haven't seen it yet it is still visible in the western sky just after sunset. I started looking for it a little bit too early, when the sky was still too bright with the fading light. I guess I'd suggest about an hour after sunset. The comet is pretty low to the horizon so you won't have a lot of time once the sky is dark enough.

Here's John's quick guide to finding it:
Once nearly all of the sunlight has faded from the horizon, locate Venus. It will be the bright "star" in the western sky. You'll be able to see it well before the sky is completely dark and it might be a good idea to find it early. Once you've found Venus, look to the right (north) about two spread hand's widths and slightly higher -- 2 o'clockish if Venus is the clock center. There you'll find the next brightest stars on the horizon (Arcturus). At the halfway point between Venus and Arcturus is where you'll find the comet. 
The comet and relatively long tail are pretty faint but still visible to the naked eye. The comet will be closest to the horizon and the tail will be up and to the left (11 0'clock).
Good luck!

I also saw a shooter (meteor) last night. We're just after the Taurids and just before the Orionids so you may see a stray while you are star gazing this week. The Orionids peak between midnight and 4 am on Monday morning. The moon will be bright and inhibit viewing but it should still be a good shower.

I hate watching the summer constellations fade and the winter constellations appearing in the night sky. The winter sky is magnificent, but it is often too cold to enjoy. The Scorpion is setting just after sunset and it is taking the Milky Way with it. 
Sacrebleu!
The winter sky points us away from the center of the galaxy and looks to its outer regions. There are bright stars, magnificent constellations, and other galaxies to view in the winter sky. I sometimes think I should get a better telescope than the beginner scope I bought more than three decades ago. The cosmos are simply fascinating to me.
To be honest, I also find the earth and its slowly changing landscape and not so slowly changing atmosphere and climate to be equally as fascinating. I probably should have stayed in school and studied the earth and the cosmos, but then I would have had a very different life and I'm pretty happy with the way this one has turned out, so...
I guess I'll keep reading and learning and simply enjoying life as it is.

Let me know if you see the comet. If you miss it this time around, you can catch it again in about 80,000 years!

John

So long, Summer!

I'm up at sunrise on this last day of summer. sigh
By this time tomorrow morning the sun will have reached the equator in its southward journey and it will be fall in the northern hemisphere. The equinox -- when there is equal night and day at the equator -- is different than the equilux -- when night and day are equal wherever you are. Tomorrow there will be 12 hours and 8 minutes of daylight here in Highlandville MO. Our equilux, where there are 12 hours of both day and night won't occur until Wednesday.

While I may lament the beginning of fall, it isn't like this catches me by surprise or will change my life in any great way. It isn't like I have to build fires earlier or burn more oil in my lanterns. I'll just flip the lights on a little earlier in the evening. Living in rural Missouri doesn't have the active nightlife that life in a city might bring so the only real difference is more dark.
I know that more dark/less light does have an impact on many people. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can impact physical health as well as mental well-being. I am fortunate that I don't suffer from SAD in any profound ways, but by the midpoint of winter I am truly longing for spring and summer.

Enough with the stuff out of my control!
Something I do have control over is meeting with people. I do manage my people contact pretty well, maybe too well. I am trying to be more purposeful about that and have recently been adding occasional meetings with people. I've always sort of known that men have problems with friendships, but I am just realizing that it is more of a problem for quite a few guys. 

"I don't really have any friends," is a lament I hear quite often. 
Truthfully, I don't either, but I don't know that it's something to lament about. Sure, it would be nice to have a buddy to go watch the fights with, but I'm also okay with watching alone or skipping an event all together. 
I do know a group of young men (40ish) that meet weekly and have developed good friendship bonds in doing so. I've been invited into the group and have gone a few times, but I'm pretty sure I'm more like the age of their dads. It's cool, but the relationships they have between one another is much more organic than one they might have with me.
The thing about this group is that it is quite purposeful. Maybe that's something my generation never really learned. So I'm learning from these young guys.
I doubt that I'm going to ever host a weekly fire pit gathering, but if I meet with a few different men for an occasional coffee/breakfast/lunch/beer/cigar that might be a good thing for me and for them.

I already have a coffee connection for this coming week, so I should be good for the rest of the month. I'll start working on October later.

John

Wednesday Wisdom

This fits, except the talking to the moon part.
Admiring the moon, yes.
Searching the stars, yes.
Talking to myself, probably.

John

Did you know ... ?

Did you know that the June solstice of 2024 is the earliest it has occurred in 228 years? 
The solstice marks the beginning of summer for those of us in the northern hemisphere and hasn't been as early as June 20th since 1796!
Here in the Midwest, the solstice happens at 3:50 this afternoon.

Even as everyone is bracing for a hot summer, I am ready for it. 
Summer is my season.

I'm up early this morning (before 6). I don't know why. I sleep until I'm finished and this morning that was about 5:50. Getting up a little earlier could be to my benefit when it comes to getting some outdoor work finished before it gets too hot. I'm a slow starter in the mornings and it is often 11 o'clock before I'm ready to get started. It might be better to get started on whatever planting/weeding/mowing/trimming/watering needs to be done on a given day before 9 or so. I'll still have my afternoons to sit in the shade of the deck while listening to music, smoking a cigar, and enjoying a cool drink.

Happy summer!

John

The Day After

I really enjoyed yesterday's total eclipse. This was my second time experiencing a total eclipse and I really enjoyed the excitement and emotions of the people around me that had never had that experience before.
It was all pretty cool.

So...
I missed a coming total eclipse in 2026 that will run from the North Pole and down into Northern Spain. That sounds like a good trip. It only touches the tip of Iceland and it might be that Northern Spain will be a better place to find a viewing spot.

Then there is the 2027 total eclipse through Northern Africa, followed by July 2028 in Australia. Australia gets another one in November 2030.
I wonder if I could find a place to stay in Australia.
Hmmm...
Maybe we'll become eclipse chasers.
Maybe not.

Today -- life goes on. 
The moon keeps spinning around the earth.
The earth keeps orbiting around the sun.
The sun keeps moving within our galaxy.
And all of it hurtles through space in a cosmic dance that has been choreographed billions of years ago.
It is pretty mind boggling from my perspective.

Be the light
Not the eclipse

John

It's Still Winter!

It seems as if Nature is reminding us that there are still a few more hours of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Last night's temperatures were below freezing, and tonight's are forecast to be the same. I imagine that will damage some plants and early blossoming trees, but nature can be fickle.

Because of the extra winter day (Leap Day) this year, the Vernal Equinox takes place on March 19th. It doesn't happen until just after 10 PM here in the Midwest, so it will still be like the 20th is the first day of spring. With high temps today still being in the low 40s (6c), I'm calling it a stay inside day and not planning on doing much. I may be spending a final night at the shelter if there isn't a volunteer for tonight, so an easy day is a good plan for me.

As nature marks the passing of time with the changing seasons, this morning I'm thinking about the passing of time in my own life -- how I've arrived where I am, and what direction I seem to be heading.
I'm wondering about the outside forces or people that influence my thinking and doing in life. Some are influential because I've chosen to seek their wisdom, others are more forceful about how they bend the course of my life.
I'm not much of a fatalist, believing that things happen in a predetermined course, but rather I believe that the choices we make and the things we do set both the individual paths of our lives and influence the courses of the people and the communities that we touch.

So I am thinking...
How do you (or do you) determine the people and forces that you allow to influence your thoughts and actions?
Do you have a go-to person or persons that you see for guidance or counseling?
Do you seek spiritual guidance or believe in a Higher Power?
Or do you just go with the flow as the earth hurtles through space and time marches on?
What are you thinking about as one season ends and another begins?

John

March 1st

March 1st
9 PM
From anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere 
Face due south and look up

That bright star is Sirius, the Dog Star.
Sirius is easy to find on any night when it's out. It's just to the left of the constellation Orion. Above Sirius you'll find the Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux. Above and to the right of Orion you can find the Pleiades cluster and Aldebaran, the red eye of Taurus the bull.

The constellation of Orion is very large and includes the Orion Nebula, the bright white Rigel, and the red super giant Betelgeuse. 
Although I love looking at this area of the night sky, I am looking forward to these winter stars moving on and making way for the stars of spring and summer.

John

My Calendar

How do you mark the passing of time?
This morning I woke up at 6AM and was looking at the constellation Scorpio out of my southern facing bedroom window. The Scorpion is a summer constellation!
It probably sounds pretty lame or like I must have a boring life, but I find it kind of exciting to see this nighttime summer constellation in February's early morning sky. It means summer is on the way!

I really do look forward to the changing night sky and I watch the stars as we make our annual orbit around the sun. The winter sky is beautiful and exhibits many bright stars. However, long observations of the winter sky can be challenging when it is just too damn cold outside to enjoy it. 
One of these days I should up my telescope game and replace the beginner's 60mm refractor that I've had for more than 30 years. Or maybe I'll just continue to observe the universe with a simple magnifier or the naked eye. 

In any case, seeing the early sky this morning is a great way to begin the day.
My other calendar reminds me of an early morning doctor's appointment. Regular check ups with a dermatologist are important for a guy that loves being in the sun as much as I do.

I hope you have a great day, too!

John

A Reason to Celebrate

Today is the Winter Solstice!*
I'm not sure if you can really say that this is the first day of winter since the sun will both rise and set before the earth reaches the point in its journey around the sun that marks the point where the tilt begins to shift the other way.
In any case, tomorrow's sunrise will be on the other side and we begin the move towards spring.

It is forecast to be rainy and overcast tomorrow morning, so I'll need to use my SkEye app if I want to mark the winter sunrise on my compass rose flower garden. Sunrise will be at 7:22 AM. I may or may not be up to mark it. I kind of feel like doing that commits me to marking the sunset tomorrow and then the sunrises and sunsets on each of the equinoxes and the summer solstice. That would be cool, but nobody else will really know or care so it's not a big deal.

This morning I am drinking my coffee by the fire and thinking of longer days, beautiful flowers, and warm days on the deck.
Happy Solstice!

John

*in the Northern hemisphere

Friday

It is Friday, the 29th of September. 
Just before sunrise this morning the moon reached its full phase -- the Harvest Moon. 
The sun, the moon, the stars continue in their seasonal dance and we (in the Northern Hemisphere) move ever closer towards winter. 

We continue to have nice days to close out September (90F today, 32C) and I'm sure October will be nice, as well. Although the hummingbirds have mostly gone (I see an occasional visitor at the feeder) and the Monarch butterflies are also migrating southward, I am enjoying the warm days while they last and getting some new flower beds ready for spring. I'm not sure which is more therapeutic -- the working in the dirt, the promise of the coming beauty, or the actual spring/summer flowers.
Because of the size of this particular flower bed, it is a crazy amount of work and the project has grown from its original plan. A neighbor was walking to get his mail the other day and asked if this is a "Honey do" project. 
Nope. It's pretty much because I like flowers.
To be fair, the growth of the project (about doubling the work) is Chris's part. The 100'+ (30m) flower bed will now include a picket fence. It's taking a long time because I'm an easy boss. I let myself start work late in the morning and quit early in the afternoon. I take frequent breaks and long lunches.
The same neighbor (day 3 of walking by) asked if I ever thought that I should have just hired someone to do the job. 
Not really. I have more time than money and more brawn than brains, so...

Well, I'd better get to work. The day is warming up and I hope to have the last of the post holes finished this morning. I probably should have posted before pics and documented the progress, but I am sure to post finished pics with plenty of spring summer blooms next year.

Dig in the dirt.
Walk, run, or paddle through nature.
Enjoy the weekend.

John

So long, Summer!

This is it.
The last day of summer '23.
Shortly before 2am in the US Midwest the sun's path will reach the equator in the earth's annual orbit and fall will begin in the northern hemisphere, while spring begins in the southern hemisphere.

sigh

In order to offset the end of summer blues, I am working on building a flower bed for next spring/summer. It started out as a large flower bed across the front of the property (96' x 4') to a large flower bed with a picket fence running through the length of it, to a much larger flower bed (96' x 10') with a side panel of fencing at each end, and now is expected to be somewhere in between. (104' x 6' with additional 4' x 4' squares at each end for a corner turn for the fence)
Rain last night will mean no work this morning. I might get some work done this afternoon if it dries up enough. I really am looking forward to seeing it filled with flowers next year. I believe it will be well worth the work I'm putting into it.

I put my bird feeders out about a week ago. Today is the first time I've seen the birds eating from them. 
There are still a few hummingbirds at the hummingbird feeder, but far fewer than there have been and I haven't seen a ruby red throat for a couple of days. I wonder if they sense the season change from the temperature or more from the fewer hours of daylight. I would tend to believe it's the latter since that part is always consistent. 

On the subject of feeding birds, I'm thinking about feeding crows. I've been reading about crows and am pretty impressed with their abilities. There are many mornings when I see a few of them searching for food in the back yard or field and think it would be cool to get to know them. It seems that a regular time and place for feeding them is best and dry pet food or fresh nuts are good choices. Once they've found the feeding place and are used to the time, I may sit close by and eventually get to where I can hand feed them.
Just a thought for now. I'll let you know if that changes.

John 

Comet Watch

I was up early on Sunday and Monday mornings. Tuesday was overcast so I slept in. Up again early today (Wednesday).
I really don't understand reading that one could see this comet without binoculars, a monocular, or a small telescope. It appeared to be much too faint in the early morning sky from my home in Highlandville MO. Although I do live in a rural area, looking to the east near the horizon is pretty much littered with light pollution from the billboards along US 65. Plus, it is just before sunrise so the sky is getting brighter as morning approaches.

I had no luck on Sunday morning, but was not discouraged from doing a little more research and trying again on Monday. I'm pretty sure I found it Monday morning. I was using binoculars and my Sky Eye app. Although the app didn't show the comet, I didn't see a corresponding star for what I was seeing in the vicinity where the comet was supposed to be.
Confident of what I was looking for and adjusting for the two day difference, I was able to find it again this morning. It will pass at its closest to the sun on the 12th and then head away from the solar system and back into interstellar space, never to be seen again by us mere earthlings.

Next on the overnight watch will be the opposition of Jupiter in a couple of weeks. The giant planet of the solar system will be at its closest to earth in nearly a century and full bright due to being in opposition to the sun. Even with a pair of binoculars you should be able to see the bands of the planet and several of the four largest moons, depending on where they are in their orbits. They will appear as pinpricks of light in line with the planet's equator and may be farther away from the planet than you might think. You should be able to observe the dance of the orbiting moons throughout the fall.

It is a little sad to see the summer constellations leaving the night sky and even though I am not looking forward to winter, the winter sky is pretty amazing. Orion, and Canis Major are already high in the morning sky, as are the Gemini Twins, Taurus the Bull, and the Pleiades star cluster. Leo is rising just before sunup. Our winter night perspective faces us away from our galaxy's center and the overhead view of the Milky Way will vanish for a few months.
Currently Mercury and Mars are not visible at night, and Venus rises in the early morning. Saturn and Jupiter rise at around 9 and 10 o'clock at night (Jupiter is the brighter one) and you can see them all with the naked eye. Neptune is between Saturn and Jupiter, and Uranus is just to the left of Jupiter, but you will probably need a small telescope to find them. A small scope will also show you the rings of Saturn.
Grab a pair of binoculars (or not) and check it out.

John

The Sun is on the Move

One of the seasonal change indicators for me is the morning sun. For about a week now, it has moved far enough south that it shines into the deck as it rises. The back of our house faces the SSE and is shielded from the morning sun throughout most of the summer. It feels good in the late fall and winter months, but quickly gets pretty warm here in the late summer. Last night's overnight temperature was cool enough to turn off the a/c and open the windows. I slept on the deck. It's still just 65f (18c) at 7:30, but will make it to 83f (28c) this afternoon. 

I am really not looking forward to the fall and all that comes with it -- like winter!
I do like a good Marzen lager, so the Oktoberfest beers that are coming out now are welcome, but I'm not a fan of pumpkin nor pumpkin spice beers. Most traditional Oktoberfest brews are marzen lagers (German for March) and brewed for release in August (now the eighth month). It's more of an end of summer beer than a beginning of fall beer, at least that's the perspective that I have on the matter. 

Maybe I should mark the sunrise position on the compass rose garden that I have -- spring and fall equinox and summer and winter solstice. I should probably mark it on the calendar or I'll miss it as it happens.

I'm not a big football fan so the start of the NFL season doesn't thrill me.
I don't mind sitting around a fire pit on a fall night, but the deck is more comfortable and it doesn't make my clothes and hair smell like smoke.
I'm more of a shorts and sandals (or barefoot) guy than jeans and boots.
I'm not much of an outdoors activity person. I'm not planning on running or cycling whether it's warm or cold so give me warm. 

Here are some astronomical reminders--
On the night of August 30th (Wednesday) the full moon will be the closest and brightest full moon of the year -- a super blue moon!
Saturn is just past its opposition (the night of the 26/27) and will be the bright "star" near the full moon. With a small telescope (50 or 60mm refractor) you should be easily able to see the rings. Handheld binoculars are tougher, but you might be able to make out what looks like a tiny hat shape. You get a lot of wobble when you look at deep space objects with binoculars. I find that using something to rest your elbows on and holding the binoculars at the lenses helps to minimize the shake.

I hope you have clear skies for the largest full moon of the year!

John

¡Adios, Puerto Vallarta!

It is time to return home after being here in Puerto Vallarta for the past four weeks. Travel days are never fun, but at least we'll get to stress over the tight connection we have in Atlanta this evening. The time between arrival and departure is an hour and forty minutes, but we'll need to go through US Customs and recheck Chris's one checked bag, so it should be tight. It would be nice if our flight out of PV could arrive a little early. The ATL to SGF flight is the last one of the day.
I looked into an earlier flight out of PV, but there wasn't one available. No worries. It's not like we have jobs to go to tomorrow. We may just be spending the night in Atlanta.

I have a book to read, my phone to scroll through, and a couple of movies downloaded in case there isn't anything on the flight that I want to watch. I should be just fine for the day.
It will be nice to be back home tonight (hopefully).

I don't know when we'll be back to PV. I'd like to be in Mazatlan next April for the total eclipse. That would be a great way to end the Midwest cold weather season. It would be cool if the kids could join us for that.
Since the path of totality cuts through the middle of the US, we could also just travel across the state to witness it, but that wouldn't be as much fun as getting together with the kids for a beach vacation. Anyone else making plans to witness it?

Whether we're back here for the eclipse or not, this trip has given me new motivation for learning Spanish. I did brush up on it a little bit last month (May, actually), but I think I'll continue to work on it. It would be nice to be functionally fluent when visiting here.

¡Hasta la proxima!
(Until next time!)

John

23,010 days

Twenty three thousand and ten days.
That's how many times the earth has spun on its axis since my arrival sixty three years ago.
I'm not sure which number sounds older.

The thing that I am pretty sure of is that I have fewer days or years left on this planet and I should probably make the most of them. I suppose that making the most of them will mean many different things to different people -- making money, taking trips, having adventures and hobbies to pursue, drinking fine wines or expensive bourbons, driving nice cars, etc., etc.
I'm much less ambitious than that.

Making the most of my days is more about living in the moments that happen rather than making moments happen. It is difficult to express how much enjoyment I get from watching hummingbirds at the feeder or feeding from the flowers we've planted.
I'm a lousy gardener, but there is a peaceful kind of satisfaction in harvesting a handful of green beans for a dinner side or picking some cucumbers and tomatoes for a salad.

I do cherish the moments that I get to spend with good friends and there are certain people that seem to connect and lift my spirit more than others. But there is also a peace that I treasure in being alone. 
I doubt that my remaining days and years will yield much influence, inspiration, or wisdom upon the world around me. I don't think that is my calling or purpose. I doubt that I'll be spreading a ton of joy or buckets of happiness -- you have to enjoy being around people for that kind of stuff. 

For the most part, I think my 23,010 days have been well spent. I've met some great people and learned some good lessons. I hope to continue learning daily lessons and enjoying each moment as it presents itself.

John

For those that are interested: The Milky Way galaxy spins at around 270 kilometers per second or 168 miles per second and takes 200 million years to complete a single rotation. While I have journeyed around our sun 63 times (584 million miles per orbit), in the grand scope of things we have barely moved.