“the sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.”
-pamela hansford johnson
—
summer on glen lake, empire/glen arbor, michigan, usa
Jul26
Category Archives: sun
Apr8
eclipsed.
“what’s the sense in having an eclipse if you can’t look at it? somebody in production sure slipped up this time!”
-charles m. schulz, the complete peanuts, volume 7
—
image credit: d.d. mcinnes, astrolabio and bunny
Jun21
this is the solstice.
Midsummer or Estival Solstice is the 1st day of summer when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky.
The term solstice is derived from the Latin words Sol (sun) and Sistere (to stand still) because the sun’s position at noon does not appear to change much during the solstice and the surrounding days, unlike at other times where the Earth’s tilt causes the sun’s path to rise and fall from one day to the next.
—
“this is the solstice,
the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight,
the year’s threshold and unlocking,
where the past lets go of and becomes the future;
the place of caught breath, the door of a vanished house left ajar…”
― margaret atwood
Apr30
rising.
morning has broken.
—
“the sun himself is weak when he first rises,
and gathers strength and courage as the day gets on.”
– charles dickens
—
on glen lake, empire, michigan, usa – april 2023
Jan18
daylight.
north manistee, michigan lighthouse pier
As days drag on and the sun still sets relatively early, you may be left wondering are the days truly getting longer? The short answer is, yes. But only by a few minutes. Each day in January we average an extra 2 minutes from the day prior.
By the end of February, we can expect an additional two hours and 30 minutes. February 28’s sunrise is at 7:20 A.M. And the sunset is at 6:30 P.M. The first 6 o’clock sunset of the year arrives on February 5.
As we ease closer to our longest day, June 21, we’ll gain an additional 6 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. The longest day of the year, the summer solstice on June 21, is 15 hours and 21 minutes long.
We’re on our way!
—
“run for daylight.”
-vince lombardi
—
credits: wxyz-tv detroit, isabella hulsizer, photo: john l. russell
Dec21
essence of life.
picture from a past solstice celebration
—
every year
one of my favorite things to teach and share with my class
is the story and traditions of the winter solstice
i get to play the sun
the children play the tilting earth and the seasons
who spin and dance and throw snow
as the season changes
the sun stays in the middle
offering extra light
to the other side of the earth now tilting toward it
knowing it will always return to them
even as our days grow shorter
they quietly rest on the ground
waiting, waiting
only to emerge
when the time is right
happy to dance once more
in the light of the warm spring sun.
—
*notes: here is my recipe for the winter solstice, and many thanks to all for your low-tech special effects support of this performance: torn paper snowflakes made by the children, many smiles, a bit of dizziness, a sun doing an interpretive dance, a person to turn off and on the classroom lights at just the right moment, a flashlight, a yellow paper sun, a dj to play the music (‘carol of the bells’ by george winston, and ‘here comes the sun’ by the beatles) at just the right time, and a class full of kinder/whirling twirling planets throwing snow, lying down, and awakening as emerging new life in the spring when the sun returns. somehow it all falls into place, each year a bit differently, as is the way of the world.
—
“spiritually, life is a festival, a celebration. joy is the essence of life.”
-agnivesh
Jul10
sun.
The one moment when 99% of the world’s population can see the sun
For a single minute at 7:15am, EST, on Friday, July 8, 99% of the world’s population was (7.688 billion people) either in sunlight or twilight and could simultaneously spot the sun in the sky. It’s a minute in time that only happens once a year. The only countries not under sun in that minute were New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Antarctica.
It’s hard not to see, but admittedly if someone wasn’t watching for the phenomenon that unfolded Friday morning, they could have definitely missed it. This does call into question what it means to be seeing the sun. According to the website timeanddate.com, while the claim is technically true, the number of people perceiving sunlight is a bit lower – about 93% of the world’s population.
Apr21
sun.
(no explanation about the alien orb)
—
that moment when you are walking
‘here comes the sun’ clicks on
the sun returns
as it always eventually does
the universe in alignment.
—
“truth is like the sun. you can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.”
-elvis presley
Apr6
tropical heat wave.
‘Michigan’s weather has best weekend day in six months coming’
(today’s headline- here’s hoping it hits a sweaty 60!)
—
“alike and ever alike, we are on all continents in the need of love,
food, clothing, work, speech, worship,
sleep, games, dancing, fun.
from tropics to arctics humanity live with these needs
so alike, so inexorably alike.”
carl sandburg
—
credits: republic pictures, mark torregrossa – olive
Mar12
more or less.
once again, the kinders have the right message.
—
‘the day, water, sun, moon, night –
i do not have to purchase these things with money.”
-plautus
I didn't have my glasses on.... 