The first day of fall is Sept 22; that's 36 days away. There are 104 total days of summer, so 36 / 104 = 0.346153846. The third trimester is imminent. Let's call it very late mid-summer.
Over in my side bar, the first link under "other diversions" is Astronomical Applications. It takes you to a US Naval Observatory web-page that generates a calendar of daylight hours specifically for the area where you live.
Today in San Francisco we had 13 hours and 33 minutes of daylight, about 1 hour and 12 minutes less than we had on the summer solstice. We will lose another 32 minutes by August 31. And, 22 days after that, on the first day of fall, we will have lost another 52 minutes, leaving only 12 hours and 9 minutes of daylight.
For those of you suffering through hot summers, your relief is almost at hand. Meanwhile, those of us on the coast wait for the shorter days to bring the warmer weather of Indian Summer. During the long days of the calendar's summer, hot air rises in the Central Valley, pulling in ocean air through the Golden Gate. That moist air condenses over land and shrouds The City in a chilly fog. August is usually terrible, but this year it's been...very terrible. Expect things to warm up in September and October. October, glorious October--often our warmest month of the year, and a fine time to visit.
Aaanyway...as gardeners does this time of year set you in motion? Are you making preparations for fall planting? Getting cabbage and broccoli starts ready? Stocking up on plants to get in before the first fall rains? Or do you stave off thoughts of putting your garden to bed for winter? Are you preparing to make preparations? Or just putting off the preparations until you know it's too late to prepare so you can just wing it? For most of us, it's just gardening. We can do as we please, and it's tremendously fun.
There are no specific garden blogger memes for the end of summer, but we all seem to write several posts about it. It's one of my favorite times of the blogging year, when everyone tallies up their garden's summer.
My biggest preparations right now seem to be emotional. I'm trying to soak up all the light I can before it's gone. Like it might never came back.
Today I found 30 short minutes to whip through the Blake Garden...in the late afternoon light of very late mid-summer.
5 comments:
Even though summer here usually last well into October, this has always been a melancholy and transitional time of year for me. We try to squeeze in a few more trips to the beach and to get out of town at least once more before school resumes and the predictable, rigid schedules of fall begin.
Hi Chuck!
Blake House is one of my favorites in the Bay area - I truly has retained a lot of it's original charm - not all 'gussied up' for the tourists, like some public gardens.
And LOVE the final picture in your post.
Chloe M.
Unlike Les, every day we move closer to October makes me happier. October is a very fine month almost everywhere, don't you think? The one time I was in San Francisco was Columbus Day weekend 15 years ago. It was warmer than I expected, but yes, beautiful. October...bring it on!
I'm winging it, even in the vegetable garden. Cabbage and broccoli, no can grow because of the caterpillars. The rest of the gardens? I've been winging it since I arrived.
I think winging it is half the fun! I look forward to October too, but I'm amazed that it's your warmest month. Weather near the ocean sure is interesting, makes me think I should do more traveling (before I get any more set in my ways :) I did manage to sow some lettuce, swiss chard, cabbage, pac choi and kohlrabi the other day, but it's a crap shoot cuz' I'm new to this veggie thing. As always, thank you for the terrific garden tour!
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