Updated for Fall 2017 HERE!
38 More Days Until Autumn!
 |
| Sorry, no credit available. This came across my Facebook timeline. |
For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn is really not that far away... 38 more days! Autumn greets us (or we greet Autumn) on September 23 at 4:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, this year, 2015. That's 3:20 a.m. Central Daylight Time and 1:20 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
On these 90+ degree days in August, Autumn, with beautiful bright days and cool nights, is a very welcome thought.
Just in case you can't quite remember the science of the Autumnal Equinox, which is the time when the sun appears to cross the equator and the days and night are of equal length, here's a primer from Wikipedia:
The September equinox (or Southward equinox) is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward. Due to differences between the calendar year and the tropical year, the September equinox can occur at any time from the 21st to the 24th day of September.
At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. Before the Southward equinox, the sun rises and sets more and more to the north, and afterwards, it rises and sets more and more to the south. In the Northern Hemisphere the September equinox is known as the autumnal equinox. In the Southern Hemisphere it is known as the vernal or spring equinox.
And just in case you forgot that the tilt of the Earth is responsible for the seasons, here's a good link that explains that whole thing.
September
To me, autumn has always meant the start of school (even though so many kids start school in summer now), tomatoes and zinnias in early September, the last barbecues of summer, many, many birthdays in our family, then, by the end of the month, cooler nights, leaves starting to change colors, chrysanthemums and asters (Michaelmas daisies), and a few more family birthdays. And overflowing Farmer's Markets. And football.
October
October
October is full of beauty, golden and red colors, gourds, squashes, especially pumpkins, haystacks and hayrides, and the last apples straight from the orchards. Then witches, ghosts, goblins and Halloween.
November
November
November brings Thanksgiving in the United States and the start of the Christmas holiday season. As a kid, November always seemed just cold and grey, but now that I'm older, I really appreciate the peaceful quality of November. The gardening is done; the craziness of the Christmas season hasn't yet started, and those empty branches against the deep blue of an early sunset are always stunning.
Apple Cobbler, Soups, Stews, and Meatloaf
Apple Cobbler, Soups, Stews, and Meatloaf
I absolutely refuse to turn on the oven when the air conditioning is running, so Autumn means baking, casseroles, breads, soups and stews. I always promise myself that I will try more new recipes than I actually do, but I'm definitely going to make that wonderful apple cobbler with home-whipped whipped cream that I made almost every year when my son was little.. if I can find the recipe. And there will definitely be meatloaves and lasagna. Definitely!
The Countdown Starts!
So let's start counting down those days until Autumn.... and then, tonight, when the sun is a little lower in the sky and the temperature dips below 90, I'll go out and water everything. That will be enough of the outside for now... I'm sure I can find a few hours of good shows on Netflix.
So let's start counting down those days until Autumn.... and then, tonight, when the sun is a little lower in the sky and the temperature dips below 90, I'll go out and water everything. That will be enough of the outside for now... I'm sure I can find a few hours of good shows on Netflix.
