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Post by stepper on Jun 27, 2021 10:48:05 GMT -6
I saw the same thing! I looked it up in Google and there were several web sites expressing the same conflicting information.
"The first day of summer 2021 is June 20 at 11:32 p.m. EDT" - which would equal 10:32 PM Central Time.
"This year the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Monday June 21 at 03:32 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), the international standard time used by astronomers. The solstice arrives on Sunday June 20 at 8:32 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time"
"Longest Day of the Year is known as the Summer Solstice. This year the day is falling on Monday, June 21. This astronomical day is usually marked between June 20 and June 22."
"SUMMER BEGINS On the longest day of the year, Summer Begins in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also known as the Summer Solstice, which happens either on June 20th, 21st, or 22nd. It all depends on the time zone in which you live."
So the problem is time zones and hemispheres? Here's the next couple of years for the Northern Hemisphere...depending on which web site you look at!
2021 Monday June 21, 2021 2022 Tuesday June 21, 2022 2023 Wednesday June 21, 2023 2024 Thursday June 20, 2024 2025 Saturday June 21, 2025 2026 Sunday June 21, 2026 2027 Monday June 21, 2027 2028 Tuesday June 20, 2028 2029 Thursday June 21, 2029 2030 Friday June 21, 2030
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Post by moonglum on Jul 2, 2021 5:25:31 GMT -6
The weather has been a bit of a 'mixed bag' lately. Days when God has well and truly 'turned the tap on', as my mum used to say, and days when the temps have been pushing 30C and the heat has been unbearable. I don't envy those Canadians one bit. Does anyone remember the field of yellow picture I posted, looking out from the rear of our house. Well, it's disappearing. They have started the building work and pretty soon it's going to be one huge housing estate.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 4, 2021 7:14:53 GMT -6
I remember that sea of yellow, Moonglum - the rapeseed field. It was gorgeous!! A much nicer view than a housing estate!
Summer started off way different than spring ended. We were in a severe drought; during the first week of summer, it rained every day - it went from dust-bowl dry to rain-forest wet and humid. We had 12 inches of rain - four inches of the 12 total fell in one day. The first day of summer (depending on which calendar I was looking at), we spent on a boat (a small yacht, actually), diving and swimming in 66 feet of clear aqua-blue Lake Michigan water. A week later, after all the rain, you could literally float a boat in the murky water of our flooded ravine; the creek overflowed turning our yard into a small lake!
We've been a few days without rain now, the sun's been out, and the humidity hasn't been bad. Looking forward to getting some work done in the gardens today - though the ravine gardens will have to wait. It's still a swamp down there!
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Post by Phalon on Jul 6, 2021 4:58:46 GMT -6
There were rumblings and grumblings of a storm earlier this morning, but it looks like it might have passed by us. The other storm has come and gone too - the kittens went home. It's made for a very quiet morning despite the rolling thunder!
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Post by Phalon on Jul 9, 2021 4:43:42 GMT -6
What a weird week in weather reporting - not forecasting; the forecast is inaccurate so often, you almost expect it to be wrong. The "current temperature" though has been way off on all the major weather websites and apps. "Current temperature - 71F, cloudy and breezy", and we're all standing sweating and panting in the blazing sun, 90 degree heat, with the air so thick and stagnant with humidity it's hard to breathe, wondering WTF they're talking about. We had weather like that for three days, and every day the "current temperature" reports were the same - in the 70s. Boss thinks it might be because the temperature monitoring stations are at the beaches, where it's always cooler and breezy.
Then yesterday the 90 degree heat was erased instantly, and our high temperature was 65F.
I never know how to dress for work anymore.
Everything is lush and green again with all the rain we had - my hydrangeas look fabulous this year! The "hydra" in hydrangea means water, and the things loved all that excess rain. Lettuce is still looking good and hasn't bolted yet, and the tomato plants all are full of green tomatoes, though it probably won't be until late July/early August until they're ripe. Green beans and potatoes - eh. The plants look healthy, but small for this time of year. Always happy with what we get out of the garden though, even it's not a big harvest.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 23, 2021 5:01:28 GMT -6
This week's summer bounty: green beans (yay! finally!) and mosquitoes (boo! hiss! slap!).
We've had an abundance of both. And this morning, rain, thunder, and lightning too.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 27, 2021 4:58:03 GMT -6
This week's summer bounty: more green beans, more mosquitos, gobs of humidity, and giant night flying attack beetles.
And the Olympics!
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Post by Phalon on Aug 1, 2021 7:39:42 GMT -6
Been catching some of the Olympics - not a whole lot, and not nearly enough of the swimming competitions as I would have liked, because I end up falling asleep. The week's high humidity left me pretty wiped out after work.
It finally broke though, and the last couple of days have been beautiful. My sunflowers are starting to bloom, and this morning I watched fascinated as small bumblebee, its legs yellow with pollen, made its way in concentric circles around the center of the flower.
Just got done picking lettuce...and the first tomato of the season! HLTs for dinner tonight! ("H" is ham; we don't have bacon.) Ooooo - add a fried egg on there too!
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Post by moonglum on Aug 3, 2021 1:38:50 GMT -6
I've been meaning for a while now, to make a list of all the birds we've had visit our garden. Yesterday something happened that prompted me to do that. But first the list, minus one!
House Sparrows Hedge Sparrows Blue Tits Robins Blackbirds Green Woodpecker Starlings Collar Doves Woodpigeon We also get flights of Greylag Geese fly in and out of the 'yellow' field behind our house. I imagine that will end now!
Anyway back to the 'plus one'. I normally get up around six and sit out under our lean-to in my dressing gown having my first cup of tea. Yesterday was no exception. We have a bird-house on a stand in the centre of the lawn and next to it a feeder pole with feeders containing seeds, nuts and 'fat-balls'. The Starlings squabble with each other, especially the young ones, trying to get more than their share, whilst the smaller sparrows nip in underneath them fearlessly making sure they don't miss out. One or two sparrows are usually on the ground picking up dropped seeeds and insects from the grass. I was idly watching the morning's entertainment when suddenly the usual cacophony rose to screams of distress and the birds took flight. There was a whooshing sound, a flurry of wings, and there, perched on the edge of a large flower pot, sat a Kestrel. It flew in so fast I didn't see it until it had landed. It sat there for a few seconds fixing me with its glare and then was gone. My guess is it may have been a young one and was after one of the sparrows. They are quite a small hawk anyway and it didn't stay very long, I didn't even have time to see if it had caught anything, I was so stunned. And no, before you ask, I didn't have a camera in my dressing-gown. I have often seen one hovering over the 'yellow' field and marvelled at their ability to remain fixed in one position in the sky, that's probably something else that will disappear when the concrete jungle arrives.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 16, 2021 5:04:44 GMT -6
What a horrid month August was as far as the weather goes. The temperatures weren't out of the norm for late summer - mostly in the 80s, sometimes creeping into the 90s - but the humidity! It was so high, and thick, we'd be soaking wet with sweat at work by 10am.
But then September came, and literally, the moment it hit, all that humidity went away. We've had gorgeous weather since - cool nights in the 50s (it's 52F now), and sunny, warm-but-not-hot days.
The only thing lacking is rain. We haven't had any to speak of since July - just an occasional trace that doesn't even register to a tenth of an inch on the rain gauge. We watch the storm clouds roll in off the Lake, and hear the thunder in the distance, but as soon as it hits land, the storm either dissipates or it splits, heading both north and south of us.
The creek in the ravine is bone dry, and the mink that had been living down there, which we think was washed downstream when the June flooding deposited him in our yard, has moved on, probably following the dry creek bed until it found water. It probably had to travel quite a distance to find any!
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 17, 2021 3:06:55 GMT -6
We still get high humidity here every so often. On those days it most definitely still feels like Summer. On the low humid days, it does feel like Autumn is close. The leaves are getting that dark green look, soon they will be turning into bright colors. I've seen a few dry leaves on the ground here and there . . . and the crickets are getting louder. They're moving in from out of the fields, getting closer to the house. The end of next week, the temps drop to the 70s/50s. Of course, temps often jump back up from time to time, until sometime in October, and then it's cold. Unless there's an El Niño. We've had our windows open in December during an El Niño.
Off to bump up the Autumn thread . . . we're just a few weeks away from switching. Or sooner.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 17, 2021 21:58:10 GMT -6
It seems the 70/50 is happening sooner. Whether the weather changes between now and then, the temps will be dropping soon, as Autumn is coming, and Summer is on its way out.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 19, 2021 16:16:51 GMT -6
Now there are 70s/40s added to the weather predictions. My sinuses are going to murder me. Thankfully, now I know I can take over-the-counter sinus medications. So the season is a changing.
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Post by Phalon on Sept 20, 2021 6:11:13 GMT -6
It's the opposite here - temperatures are climbing higher. Yesterday it was 90F.
We heard raindrops on the roof the other night. RAINDROPS! All excited, we went out to the porch to watch the rain. It instantly stopped - so little rain, the inside of the rain gauge was still dry. It's been "raining" this morning too - but it's the same thing, just a few drops here and there.
Fall color is starting to show - notably the maples are turning blazing red and orange. Unfortunately, it's too much color for this time of the season. The trees are stressed from lack of water.
Keeping fingers crossed - rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll be actual rain instead of just a few drops.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 20, 2021 17:59:32 GMT -6
It got in the 80s today. It isn’t supposed to get into the 80s again until Monday. Then 70s/50s & 70s/40s. The 70s will go up and down. And the 50s & 40s will depend on the 70’s ups and downs, no doubt. Why does the warm/hot seasons go by faster then the cool/cold seasons. Probably because I dread the cold/dark months, and counting the days until Spring tends to make it take longer to get there. I think I would be okay it it didn’t get dark before 6pm or 7pm. I also think the time change has a lot to do with it. Maybe if the change was gradual, instead of within 24 hours.
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Post by Mini Mia on Sept 21, 2021 14:16:11 GMT -6
It is 76F right now. It’s supposed to drop into the 60s soon, and keep dropping until it gets to 54F during the night. Autumn is definitely peeking through the last of the Summer days. And according to my Google search, we are definitely falling back an hour in November. Dang it. I was hoping that would end. Just do a 30 minute split, and leave it at that. I’ll miss the hour of light jump in March, but I won’t miss the hour of dark jump in November.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 21, 2022 5:02:35 GMT -6
Happy first day of Summer!
I couldn't live where the temperatures are consistently what you and Stepper (and Scrappy) experience during summer...and have and outside job anyway. Last week, the temps here got into the upper 90s, with 86 percent humidity. I was so overheated at work, it literally felt like I had an ice-pick stuck in the middle of my forehead, and anvils tied to my legs.
Thankfully, the high temperatures only last a few days, and by the end of the week we were back down in the 70s. It was a gorgeous weekend. The kids came in and spent Saturday and Sunday here for Father's Day, and the girls and I had our Summer Solstice celebration. Wonderful family time.
Now it's back up to the high 80s/low 90s for a couple of days.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 21, 2022 15:12:35 GMT -6
And the humidity is back up.
Yeah. I don’t see how those who work outside do it when the humidity is high. I’ve lived here most of my life, so it’s mostly all I know. I try and stay inside most of the time. Although it can be worse when you work in a big metal building with no a/c, or a fan too, and a couple of small windows. That was my first experience with sweat pouring off me as though I were under the shower spray. They finally put in a/c after buying a building from another company that moved and sold what they didn’t need anymore. The a/c came with the building they bought for storage.
I’m hoping Summer goes out with a whimper. I’m in no hurry though.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 24, 2022 4:39:43 GMT -6
You are describing the store at work exactly....well not exactly, because we have lotsa and lotsa windows. But they are storefront windows - the kind that don't open. We keep the doors open, a fan running directed at the counter, but still it's unbearable at times - sometimes, even when it's sweltering outside, it feels better outside than inside. It was so hot and humid last week, that even the floor was sweating - it was actually sopping wet!
Aside from a couple of days early this week, the weather has been nice - not as nice as when it's in the 70s, but the 80s are fine, especially with the humidity down, and a cooling Lake breeze.
My gardens look good. The hydrangeas and roses are starting to bloom, everything is green and lush, and I love sitting on the back porch, drinking my coffee, and looking out at the landscape....but avoiding focusing on all the weeds that seem to spring up from nowhere, and the big mulch pile I have yet to spread!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 25, 2022 10:36:32 GMT -6
It’s supposed to cool down into the 80s for a few days. The humidity goes up and down. It’s not too high today. Temps are supposed to be back up in the 90s next week.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 30, 2022 19:53:20 GMT -6
When I walked to the mailbox in the middle of the afternoon a few days ago, it was nice. The temps were in the 90s, but the humidity was low, so even though the sun was hot, the breeze was nice. Today, I walked to the mailbox after 6pm, and the humidity made the walk somewhat unbearable. You never get used to the humidity. And that's because the humidity goes up and down. You get to enjoy low humidity just so you'll know what you're missing when the humidity rises. You've gotta know comfort, peace, joy, etc. so that you know what you're missing once it's gone.
Freedom for Ukraine. Screw Pootin' Tang.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 4, 2022 6:35:28 GMT -6
Happy 4th.
The city's fireworks were last night, and we watched them with the neighbors, from chairs set up at the corner of the street, reminiscing about years past, when we used to load up all the kids in wagons, and haul them down to the beach to watch them shoot off over the lake from a barge off the pier.
We haven't gone down there in years for the fireworks - it's just gotten too crowded with people coming from out of town, to even walk down the sidewalks, trying to maneuver through the crowds. Much more relaxing watching from home, although the view isn't as spectacular as the fireworks seemingly right over your head.
Plan to spend the day at home, leisurely(?) working in the gardens - that was my plan yesterday too, though I busted @ss in the morning to get as much done as possible, before it got too hot outside. Probably end up doing the same today - right now it's a gorgeously comfortable 66 degrees. Supposed to get up to near 90F though. Better get moving.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 4, 2022 14:51:39 GMT -6
Happy Fourth!
I’m getting ready to head over to my sisters for food and fireworks. Laters.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 9, 2022 4:53:32 GMT -6
Know what I like watching lighting up at dusk way better than fireworks? Fireflies! This week they seemed to come out in full force, twinkling little lights throughout my gardens.
We've had a few storms pass through this week, bringing much needed rain, but unfortunately, the storms' after-effects have also raised the humidity. While the rain here along the lakeshore was welcomed, inland was quite a different story. A friend of mine lives just about an hour from here - she got 3 inches of rain in less than an hour. Lighting struck one of the trees in her and her husband's yard - a 70 foot tulip tree was completely splintered and stripped clean of its bark. The lighting bolt didn't stop once it hit the ground - it traveled underground sideways in both directions away from the tree, and destroyed both their and their neighbor's wells. It looked like giant mole tunnels from the tree to the wells. Very bizarre.
Yesterday afternoon's storm though, brought the humidity down! The temperature too! Shorts or jeans, shorts or jeans....hhhmmm. Trying to decide what to wear to work - it's 50 degrees out now, but it's supposed to warm up. Shorts, and bring jeans just in case it stays cool. There. Decision made. Now it's time to implement it - gotta start getting ready so I'm not late. Again.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 9, 2022 18:39:34 GMT -6
It’s 75F, feels like 75F, and humidity is 86%.
I love lightning bugs. Not so much the mosquitoes, which is why I don’t spend long outside to watch them.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 12, 2022 4:45:45 GMT -6
We haven't had a mosquito problem this year; in fact, I don't think I've seen one at all. Maybe it's because it's been so windy? Though shhhhhh....I'm sure they're listening. And I probably just jinxed it.
No mosquitoes - don't mind not having them around at all. But we've also seen very few butterflies and bees either. Or hummingbirds for that matter. I miss seeing those things. We've got lots and lots of gnats though. Swirls of them, like little gnat tornadoes hover over the gardens in late afternoon. Annoying, but at least they don't bite.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 14, 2022 10:35:05 GMT -6
Yes. The wind will keep mosquitoes away if strong enough. I read a suggestion of using fans outside to blow them off of you as you watch the fireworks. Last year we had a good breeze and weren’t bothered by them. (I think it was last year. Could have been the year before.)
I’m off soon to get my third booster shot. Third booster shots are for those with low to no immune systems. I don’t know how weak my immune system is on its own due to my autoimmune disease, but the Methotrexate I’m on will lower it even more, so decided to get another shot. I’m wondering if the one year shot will be two shots per year for those of us with health issues.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 15, 2022 12:06:13 GMT -6
I’ve got a sore arm. I roasted during the night, yet wasn’t compelled to throw off the covers. It was a weird kind of roasting. I was hot, but not in an uncomfortable way. Plus, usually in these types of roasting, it’s best to keep covered, so I was aware I shouldn’t toss the covers off. I had strange thoughts going through my head, which seemed sane as I was thinking them, and experiencing a strange reality. This is my third booster, which I was allowed to get due to my Rheumatoid Arthritis Methotrexate medication. My first booster also effected me differently than the original two shots, and the second booster shot, so I feel like the two experiences prove my autoimmune disease needed the extra shots to get me the protection others get with the usual dosage.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 16, 2022 10:44:30 GMT -6
Ugh. I’m kitten sitting again. Demon is still vicious, and bigger.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 19, 2022 5:14:50 GMT -6
Sounds like you had a high fever. You're feeling better now, I hope?
Just be thankful you didn't have her last week. Last week was the full moon - a Supermoon, the largest one of this year, and was the cause, I'm sure, of our animals were acting weird. Well, Little Beastie is always weird, so that's no change. But Quetta - she had to be let out three nights in a row at exactly 2:35 each night of the full moon. That, of course, meant I had to let her out at 2:37 each night; she never bothers Hubs in the middle of the night. To be truthful though, I was kinda glad - I'd have missed the moon high in the sky otherwise. It was gigantic, lighting up the entire yard. Truly spectacular.
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