Solstice & "California Weather"

Sunset at near-Solstice, June 16th, 2016. The trees on the distant hill are like sun-markers, sort of like a natural version of Stonehenge. After the 21st, the sun will gradually set further and further to the left (South).

As I write this it is the 22nd of June. Officially, Solstice is past. But anyone who has looked at an "analemma" graph on a world globe knows that the days around both solstices are equally long, at least for a period of three or four days or more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analemma

Here's an analemma graph taken from Wikipedia:

The red line on the graph shows the relative height of the sun at noon over the year. As you can see, the sun stays pretty high in the sky for several days between June 15th and July 15th.

A kitty-cat walks across the Trail during Sunset, June 16th, 2016.

When I was going to the University I would use a protractor and a pen and use them as a simple type of sextant, and track the height of the sun (in degrees) every noon. It was interesting to see the change in angle of the sun over a month or so.

I haven't done that since I left the U, but it's kind of cool to track the height of the sun -- it's something the ancients did on a daily or weekly basis before the introduction of the paper (or electronic) calendar -- when their agriculture depended on it.

The 'hill on fire', Sunset, June 19th.

Today it has been 75-80F out, and the sun is bright. "California Weather".

I call it that, because the weather is much like it usually is in California, the state about 800 mi / 1000 km south of us.

My life has been fairly mundane lately: yard work with the weed-whacker, a bit of writing, work (of course), working out (trying to make decent gains after passing 200 lbs on the bench press is a bit tough), and clearing up some of the clutter inside the house -- stuff I had been putting off for a few months.

The sunlight almost looks polarised in this pic of Trail users during sunset.

On the radio front it's been pretty blah. MW conditions have been fair to mediocre. I generally tune the Sangean to 1660 and place the Select-A-Tenna next to it and listen to KBRE 105.7 the Bear, which really does have a good selection of rock music.

A lot of guys say they don't need an external loop antenna with a Sangean PR-D5 -- I've found an external loop helpful because I live in a hole, surrounded by hills, and it is a low signals area.

Sometimes while listening to 1660 khz I hear a station from North Dakota interfering with KBRE (Sports talk KQWB), and most nights I hear one or two NOAA weather stations on 1660 -- they are low power stations based in Oregon, 200-300 km away.

I took my GE Superadio III into the storage room late one night while working out with weights, and listened to KBRE 1660 khz, from Merced, California -- 105.7 The Bear. My Superadio III is one of the better ones -- it matches my SR2 and SR1 in performance.

The past few afternoons and early evenings I have taken the camera out and have taken a couple pictures of sunsets. There really isn't that much more to photograph lately.

Ominous looking clouds on the early evening of St. John's Eve, June 21st.

SOCCER AND BREXIT

A few nights ago I watched the last quarter of play during the game between the U.S. and Argentina -- the Copa America. The U.S. soccer team did fairly well this time around -- they actually made it to the semifinals -- but Argentina shut them down. Argentina did to us what Germany did to them during the World Cup.

A layer of clouds over the darkened Seattle skyline the evening of June 20th, 2016. From Myers Way hill.

Soccer still is a puzzle to many Americans -- myself included. I enjoy watching the games when they're on TV, but it's more difficult to understand the complexities of soccer than other US sports like gridiron Football.

As I finish this blog post, it's 13C and cloudy, with periods of very soft rain. Our summer seems to have taken a temporary hiatus.

A Bumble-bee on a roadside clover blossom. Clover always remind me of when I was a child, and we'd visit my grandfather's farm, where the fields were full of clover blossoms.

The British people have just voted themselves out of the EU (the "Brexit") and that's big news here. The Stock Market here has dipped, but that occurs whenever there is any jolt on the world scene.

Of course, the details of the exit remain to be worked out. Hopefully, sane heads can prevail over the 'Brexit', and the relationship between Britain and Europe can remain peaceful and beneficial to all.

FOURTH OF JULY AND A NEW FLAG

As I post this, it is the start of the U.S. Fourth Of July weekend. For my overseas readers, the Fourth is the time Americans celebrate independence from the U.K. which was declared in 1776.

The sun setting through the trees off the Cedar River Trail on June 21st, St. John's Eve. Americans don't celebrate St. John's Eve, but the idea of lighting a bonfire on the evening of Solstice is a cool idea. Apparently it was lost when our forbears crossed the Atlantic.

This year, for some reason, I have a stronger feeling towards my country than usual. I can't put my finger on the reason. Maybe some of it is the tentative nature of the times -- election year rhetoric, divisions in the country, etc. The U.S., however, has survived several wars and a Depression, and survived the turmoil in the 1960's which surrounded Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. It will undoubtedly survive the next election, no matter who gets in.

The last rays of the sun on a hillside off the Cedar River Trail, June 21st.

This Fourth Of July my thoughts will go towards my father and all my uncles (all gone now), who all served in the military during several wars.

I have no great plans for the Fourth. Probably I'll light some sparklers and roast some hot dogs. I'll put out my U.S. flags, including a new one I bought on sale at a local box store after I bought a new electric hedge trimmer (which I really, really needed).

A roadside flower -- I have no idea what kind of flower it is.

Here's hoping all you readers have a good July.

PS -- This blog post is a few days late, but I have decided to post it -- as is -- anyway. CC