Thursday 21 June 2007
Welcome to Summer
I've been looking forward to this day all year - the summer solstice and, technically, the longest day of the year. I noticed that the sky was still twilight-blue as I brushed my teeth to get in bed, at 10.15pm. Not bad, not bad at all. The UK, and London, is more northerly than I've ever lived and it took some getting used to having the sun begin to rise at 3.30am, in the summer. I'd love to go up nearer the Arctic Circle, like the Outer Hebrides, one year just to time the sunset and sunrise on the solstice. If you're in the mood for celebrating today, slap on some prog-rock, preferably Jethro Tull, and skip around a tree or two. If not, perhaps some astronomical information will get you in the mood to enjoy the summer.
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4 comments:
Ah... summer. With its heat and humidity and mosquitos... Nothing like living on what was once mostly swamp.
Seriously, though. I'm glad summer is finally here. I like the longer days and the sunshine. And today, we get out of work at 2:00!! Woo hoo!
Yea! I love early Fridays! Here they refer to it as P.O.E.T.s Society...or Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday.
I've heard that you live near a place called Foggy Bottom...due to the fog rolling off the swamp around the Potomac. Am I right? It must be awful to live in a concrete jungle when it's so humid! I'm still wearing a light jacket to work, in the morning...
Foggy Bottom is over near Georgetown on the western side of the city. In the spring and fall, it can get foggy over there, but usually burns off by late morning. Most of the lower part of the city was swamp when Adams and Jefferson were presidents. A lot of the area that comprises the western end of the National Mall was actually the boundary channel for the Potomac and was later filled in to extend the city to the west.
Even though we live in upper NW, closer to the border with Maryland, it's still a hot, muggy, bug-infested piece of land. The musquitos are Asian Tiger and leave a bite the size of a dime. They itch so horribly that they'll actually bruise from scratching them so much.
That said, though, the weather's been fairly moderate with an equal mix of beautiful, temperate days and hot, humid days. If it was more of the former and fewer of the latter, this might actually be a nice place to live in the summer. Ironically, Pres. Lincoln use to decamp to the area around our neighborhood because it was cooler up here than it is downtown--a mere five miles away!
Here's a picture of
Foggy Bottom, sans the fog. One day, maybe in the early fall, when the temperatures drop, I'll get out and take a picture in the early morning when the fog really is out. Along with the crew teams from the various universities in D.C. that row in the morning hours on the river, when it's calm.
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