Chris Trask recently posted about the upcoming nasty weather for much
of the eastern US. We live just east of St. Paul, MN. I'll try to get a
photo of our large dial-type outdoor thermometer tomorrow--it may well be
in the minus 20s F. But we love it here.
It was minus ten F. outside when we got down for breakfast. And plus
75 in our closed-off living room with the Jotul wood stove slowing eating
through the remains of the ten full cords of red oak I cut to length and
split a couple years ago. Happiness is reading the Sunday paper in warmth
and comfort, with the sun pouring its own BTUs through the south-facing bay
windows. (Contrary to the energy stored in the red oak, these BTUs were
produced, what, 8 1/2 minutes before?)
And spring is on its way. A few years ago I pounded in four steel
fence posts near the top of a hill. The one to the east is my "standard."
About 30' away to the southwest is a second fence post. Using the dark
filter from an arc-welder's facemask, I can look at the sun as it sets on
the horizon, and I have the top of the standard and the top of the SW post
aligned to mark just where the sun sets on December 21. Yesterday at
sunset the sun was a whole two sun diameters to the north of its
southern-most setting. So spring is coming, right? The two other fence
posts mark the sun's setting position on the Spring and Fall Equinox and
the Summer Solstice. It's my own little "Fencehenge," so to speak. If
you're curious, at the time of the Spring and Fall Equinox, the sun moves
an entire sun diameter to the north or south, respectively, on each
succeeding sunset. Someday I'll try to capture this with a 24-hours-apart
double exposure. (There, my OM content for the post.)
On the same trivia vein, what's the significance of Ground Hog's Day?
Dean
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