* * * * * * *

"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful."
- Unknown

"That which does not kill you, makes you stronger."
- Handed down through the ages.

"Life's tough. It's even tougher when you're stupid."
- John Wayne



Solstice Confusion

Today is supposed to be the shortest day of the year, right? Why, then, does my Monthly Sunrise / Sunset chart show that December 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, and 26th ALL share the same amount of daylight (here)? (8 hours and 24 minutes at our lat/long.) I think I need a mathematician . . . or astrologer . . . or astronomer . . . or SOMEONE to explain that to me.

Just out of curiosity, I took a peek at the amount of daylight some of the rest of you readers are experiencing today (and, apparently, in the surrounding days!).

For folks around Albany, New York, you will get 9 hours and 2 minutes of daylight today.

Military families in Virginia Beach, Virginia are getting 9 hours and 39 minutes of sunshine (provided it's shining)!

Relatives in southern California will enjoy 9 hours and 53 minutes of holiday sun today.

"Locally", our readers in Minneapolis / St. Paul are getting 8 hours and 46 minutes of daylight today. 300 miles gains you 22 minutes of light! Go figure!

And, even though I have no readers in Alaska (do I??), Anchorage is experiencing 5 hours and 27 minutes of sunshine while in the dark north (Barrow), I get this reading: "Sun: down all day". Where do you wish YOU lived?

8 comments:

  1. I remember one of the truck drivers telling how the days get longer, but it is a little one sided..you gain more minutes at either the beginning or end of the day and not evenly, as you would think.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Glad to see your shout out to us here at the beach, lol! Even though you get less sun in the winter up there, my husband is amazed at the extra hours of evening fishing he gets in Northern MN when we visit in the summer! That is strange that there is such a difference between you and the Twin Cities!

    ReplyDelete
  3. p.s.... you may have some readers from Alaska... my husband lived there for awhile and he has family still there... they may lurk on your site linking through mine LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. Erin, inquiring minds wanted to know (okay, so it was me): on the summer solstice ('round about June 21st), the sun sets here at 9:03 PM. Your sun (well, the same sun!) sets at 8:25 PM . . . giving your hubby just 38 more minutes of full-light fishing up here . . . but it must just "seem" longer. Where does he go (fishing?) - what area?

    I hope I DO have Alaska readers! That would be great! So far, though, I haven't spied any.

    Karen Sue: Yeah, even though we've passed the solstice, our sunrise keeps getting later and later until January 4th when it rises at 7:50 AM. UGH! Our sunsets do lengthen each day, though, and we're finally out of the 4:something-sunsets on February 1st! (And WHY are we using solar energy???!)

    ReplyDelete
  5. We were in the Hayward Lakes region of WI, much "souther" than you, lol! We were sitting out in a boat and talking about the long sunset and how much light there still was. We even made sure we changed our watches on our drive cross country, we had! I think it was a combination of the moon, bright sunset, reflections on the lake, but it was about 9:30 pm in July!! Cool stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have to say....about the photo of you and the kids....everyone sure looks happy and content. What a nice photo. This looks good on you. :)Foxy Lady

    ReplyDelete
  7. Erin, dear friends of ours (who we haven't seen in YEARS, of course!) live in Stone Lake, just outside of Hayward. That's a really, really nice area! Tell your hubby to plan his next fishing trip up here, though! We'll get you all the connections you need! :)

    Foxy Lady, thanks. :) You know I luvs me dem babies! Too bad The Peanut was squirmy. The birthday party (Baby Girl's #1) was so fun, though, because so many mutual friends were there! (I'm impressed the picture turned out as decently as it DID, though, considering I was EXHAUSTED . . . the little Bundle of Joy having been born just 36 hours before!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. My aunt lives on the Minong Flowage outside Hayward so that's why we were there... otherwise we prefer MN over WI....LOL :)

    Drives me crazy that my parents moved "over there" to WI this year, hahaha, at least they are right on the border!

    ReplyDelete

If you are familiar with me and where I live, please respect my right to retain some anonymity by not referring to me by anything other than Chicken Mama nor mentioning city/town/villages by place names. Thanks!