Summer Solstice

Solstice Stone - Stonehenge, UK

Tomorrow is the Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere which means that on Sunday we receive more sunlight than any other day of the year.  Naturally, you would conclude that this date would have the earliest sunrise and latest sunset, no?  

Don't jump to conclusions.  Even though the solstice has the greatest amount of daylight - the earliest sunrise occurs before the solstice and the latest sunset falls afterward.  The occurrence of those events is dependent upon how far you are from the equator – a function of the tilt of the Earth on its axis.  

Here is an interesting factoid – I went to the US Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department and looked-up the Sunrise and Sunset times for my location here at The Platz before, during and after the solstice. 

June 17 Sunrise 5:03 Am Sunset 8:38 PM

June 18 Sunrise 5:03 AM Sunset 8:38 PM

June 19 Sunrise 5:03 AM Sunset 8:38 PM

June 20 Sunrise 5:03 AM Sunset 8:39 PM

June 21 Sunrise 5:03 AM Sunset 8:39 PM

June 22 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:39 PM

June 23 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:40 PM

June 24 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:40 PM

                                       June 25 Sunrise 5:04 AM Sunset 8:40 PM

Notice that the three dates preceding the solstice have almost the same amount of daylight.  The implication is that the solstice lasts more than half a week. 

 

What's the explanation?  Does it have something to do with our location being almost equidistant from the North Pole and Equator?  Or is it a consequence of rounding the precise times?

 

The notion that the solstice lasts for a few days or a week is a very common perception that even ancient astronomers noted.  But mechanically-speaking, it's a beautifully precise illusion caused by trigonometry and orbital mechanics.  

 

The earth orbits the sun in a smooth, continuous curve.  Because the earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees the angle of the sun relative to earth's equator (called solar declination) changes throughout the year.  If you plot this change on a graph over 365 days it forms a sine wave.

 

At the Equinoxes the curve is at its steepest.  The sun's position changing rapidly every day meaning you notice significant differences in daylight length from one week to the next.

 

At the solstices the curve reaches its absolute peak (or trough).  In calculus and trigonometry the top of the smooth curve has a slope of zero.  As the earth approaches this peak the daily rate of change slows to a crawl. 

 

During the days immediately preceding and following the solstice the difference in length of daylight is measured in seconds (not minutes); consequently, to our everyday clocks and senses it appears static.

 

While the "effect" of the solstice lingers for about a week, the astronomical event itself happens in a precise fraction of a second.  That exact moment is when the earth's axial tilt is inclined closest (or farthest) from the sun.  It is a single point in time occurring simultaneously for everyone on earth regardless of time zone.  For me that is June 21, 3.25 AM CDT.

Apologies for making your head hurt.

More Spring Blooms

More evidence that you don't have to walk very far to take-in more of Ma Nature's work just take a stroll around the yard to take it in.  

We planted this tree in the front yard twenty-two years ago.  It was one year-old bare root stock; a pencil-size twig.  And for the longest time we never thought it would amount to anything.

It's grown into a handsome young oak tree. The species is Northern Pin Oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) commonly known as a Hill's oak.

Only a few weeks ago I noticed that the tree had large numbers of catkins hanging from the branches as the leaves of 2026 emerged from their buds.

Yes, oak trees have blossoms too.  These are one of the flowers that are produced by a tree – the male flower to be certain.  This species is monoecious – meaning that it produces both male and female flowers.  Each male flower typically has six stamens (ranges from two to twelve) which have long spreading white filaments when the flower fully opens.  The female flowers are more reddish-green and appear as small slender spikes in the axils of new growth.  

I gave this tree a thorough examination and could find no flowers of the female persuasion. Not surprising inasmuch as they are not visible to the naked eye.  Doh!

Anyway, last week there was this...

click on image for a closer look

The male catkin flowers are still there and If you look carefully you can see itty-bitty immature acorns beginning to develop from the female flowers. 

Those acorns will mature by the close of summer and the critters will hoover them up. 

Consider The Larch

AKA - Hackmatack, Eastern larch or American larch - Larix laricina – the Tamarack is one of my most favorite trees.

The tamarack is one of only three native North American larch species and is the most common.  Unlike other conifers the larch sheds its needles in the fall like bald cypress.  It turns a radiant golden yellow just prior to shedding its needles and with the arrival of spring grows a complete new set.  

It's spring time here and the rosy-hued structures shown in the photo are new female cones that appear in the spring and will eventually mature into woody, brown cones.

Tamarack is the most cold-hardy of any native tree and has the strongest wood of all the conifers. Tamarack also has the widest range of all the North American conifers.

While this species will grow exceedingly well in upland locations the tamarack prefers full sun and thrives in bogs, swamps and wet acidic soil.  It is often found in association with black spruce, balsam fir and northern white cedar.

Because it grows slowly in cold, wet environments the wood is surprisingly dense, heavy, hard and very durable in contact with soil. This natural rot resistance without chemical treatment makes it prized for fence posts, railroad ties, poles and boat building. 

Native Americans used the flexible and stringy roots, called watap, to sew-together sheets of birch bark for the assembly of canoes.  

There wasn't a tamarack to be found anywhere in the neighborhood when this property was acquired; although government land office surveyor notes identified it as a common tree on the peninsula before European settlement.  Large trees are very rare rare as most old specimens were killed years ago by the larch sawfly. And most certainly most found their way into fence posts and shingles as old growth forest was cleared for agriculture.

Tamarack grows so well here and being less suitable as deer browse has resulted in it becoming one of the top naturally regenerated species on our landscape.

Consider the larch....   

Frog Chorale

 

It’s a bit past 10:30 PM; bedtime.  So I took doggo out for potty call and the opportunity to record 30 seconds of gray tree frogs. 

If you’re into amphibian courtship rituals; this is what it’s all about so turn-up the volume. 

Music to my ears….

 

 

 

Another Springtime Event

A previous settler had the foresight to plant lilacs around the original homestead.  That house was sold to someone who coveted the logs before our time. 

Nevertheless, over the last century the ancestral (and ancient) lilacs persist having grown into a massive 20 foot tall hedgerow. 

They’re putting on a show right now and the scent is incredible!

I cannot recall lilacs on this scale ever.

 

Further evidence of spring.....

 

 

 

 

First Monarch

Considering how long it has taken for spring to manifest itself around here even seemingly small events are a big deal.

I has outside yesterday planting potted vegetables and herbs in my two new raised garden beds and this happened.

First monarch I've seen this year and I was lucky to snare a video to prove it....

  

Return of the Timberdoodle

While out walking the dog recently she flushed several doodle birds.  I have mixed feelings about this; on one hand I do not care to discourage a flusher retriever’s natural instincts. On the other hand it is nesting season for all birds and I’m loath to allow a dog to trample or otherwise molest an active nest.  So I try to keep her close at all times. 

About those doodle birds, they’re common around here because of the remnant alder and willow thickets in the lowlands and younger reforested uplands.  Nevertheless, outside of the local situation this curious bird is becoming less common every year.

The American woodcock - Scolopax minor - also known as the timberdoodle - is a ground-dwelling shoreland bird species found in young forest and shrublands. Woodcock breed across eastern North America with Wisconsin part of its western range.  This migratory bird winters in lowlands from the Mid-Atlantic south to the Gulf Coast states. 

Like other shorebirds, American woodcocks, also known as timberdoodles, are well adapted to life on the ground. The location of their eyes allow them to be able to look skyward for predators while probing the earth with their beaks.

 

Earth worms are their meal of choice. Their long, flexible ~3 inch beak is great for digging through soft, moist soil. Their beaks function like forceps allowing them to eat their body weight in worms daily.

 Like other ground birds, woodcocks are precocial when they hatch. Meaning they hatch in a more advanced stage of development compared to other nesting birds and are able to leave the nest a few hours after hatching.

Historically, woodcock were found in much larger numbers.  This was a consequence of a landscape that included larger amounts of early successional habitat - the technical nomenclature for younger forest.  Not surprisingly those younger forest have evolved and grown to mature forest where woodcock do not live. Fire is suppressed and logging is in decline so the extent of younger woodland habitat continues to shrink.  Urban development also destroys former habitat and because of all of these factors the woodcock population has fallen by about 1 percent each year since the 1960s. 

Aldo Leopold’s - A Sand County Almanac - describes the courtship display of the male Woodcock.  This is one of the true harbingers of spring around here and a delight to observe before sun-up.  From the chapter titled Sky Dance in this excerpt.

I'm tickled to listen to the courtship ritual.  It is another sure sign of the arrival of spring.

Porch Beer

Now that spring has decidedly arrived it is seasonably conducive to sitting on the porch to have a cold one after quitting time.  

Not every day - but most days.

Doggo approved...

 

Grilling Tip

It's raining today; consequently, it's an indoor day.  A far cry from the glorious sunshine and warmth of the latter half of the week. 

I’m going to let you in on a secret to making something we call a California Burger.  Although, it has nothing remotely associated with California.  Let me explain.

Start with a 1/3 pound ground chuck patty and bakery Kaiser roll from Marchant’s in Brussels and light a fire in your Smokey Joe.

Anoint your beef with Penzey’s English prime rib rub and a spritz of EVO. Sear over hot coals taking care to turn 90 degrees for grill marks and flip only one time. Medium to medium rare. Remove to rest.

Meanwhile, toast your sliced rolls on the grill. Butter is optional (but recommended).

Assemble as follows from bottom-up.   Roll, Duke’s mayo, raw Vidalia onion, burger, two slices of tomato, lettuce, mayo and bun top.  Wavy chips on the side.

Cheese, ketchup, mustard, sautéed onions, pickles, jalapeños, etc. all optional. Make your burger your own.

The last coupla days have nearly felt almost like summer. Grilling completes the circle.

Real men grill with fire; not with electricity…. 

 

Bad Hair Day

 

This animal looks a bit raggedy so you might think it has the mange.  It doesn't.  But it's definitely scruffy as the animal is beginning to shed its fur.  Antlers are first; winter coat is next.  As the days grow longer the additional sunlight triggers hormonal changes in whitetail deer that bring-about these changes.  For boy deer testosterone levels gradually rise.  As a consequence antler growth begins and for all deer the gray winter coat, with its thick guard hairs, begins to molt.

Hormonal changes bring about a molting process twice a year and deer alternately grow a faded gray coat consisting of longer guard hairs and replace it with the ruddy red-colored coat of summer.  Better-suited to reflecting the heat of the sun the deer really stand out when they're gathered in a bright green hay field in July.  The summer coat will only last about three months before the critter begins to regrow the extra layer of longer, stiffer, hollow hair over the softer hair closer to the skin.  

Until the transition is complete the local whitetails are going to continue looking a bit raggedy.   

Hair everywhere. 

National Wildflower Week

Always the first full week of May - National Wildflower Week commemorates the colorful blossoms that bring our landscapes to life. Whether they are on mountainsides, pastures or our own back yards, wildflowers create habitat, help conserve water and reduce erosion. 

Here's a spring perennial that is brightening our stream banks right now.  

Meet Caltha Palustris - the Marsh Marigold - a member of the buttercup family (not a marigold) and a wild flower found in bottomlands, marshes, fens and wet woodlands  this time of year.    

This is a difficult plant to miss as the bright yellow flowers are quite showy.  This plant grows along Silver Creek and in the dappled sunlit areas where ephemeral waters gather.       

This plant also happens to be edible when cooked.  Sometimes referred-to as the poor man's saffron  - the tender spring leaves or buds can be blanched in boiling water, cut into bite-sized pieces, lightly salted and served with melted butter.  The flower buds can also be cooked and pickled for use as a caper substitute.  Whatever you do - DO NOT EAT THIS PLANT RAW.     

It is sometimes called Cowslip - a throwback to the fact that it is found in low-lying areas and cows would slip-upon it when they came to the creek to drink. 

 

May Astronomy

In May there are two full moons; the one tomorrow on May 1st and the second on Sunday, May 31st.  When you score two full moons in a single month the second is referred-to as a Blue Moon. 

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac - we use full moon names that were used during Native American and Colonial times to help track the seasons.  This practice is traced to the Algonquin tribes who lived in the same areas as the Colonists.    

May’s first full Moon is known as the Flower Moon.  It signifies the wildflowers that bloom in May.  This includes wild iris, sundrops, marsh marigold, violets and more that are found around here. 

The month of May also marked a period of increased fertility and the warming days that made it safer to bear young.  For that reason it is sometimes called the Mother’s Moon.  Other names include the Corn Planting Moon, Leaf Budding Moon, Frog Moon and Milk Moon.  

From our walk only a couple of days ago there was this.

Caltha Palustris - the Marsh Marigold - a member of the buttercup family (not a marigold) and a wild flower found in bottomlands, marshes, fens and wet woodlands  this time of year.  

Fingers-crossed for clear viewing conditions Friday and Saturday evening.

Building A Better Burger

After class at NWTC the other day I picked-up some fresh bakery hard rolls. Following that I stopped at Marchant’s Meats for fresh ground chuck burgers. Where the butcher knows you on a first-name basis.

 

Inasmuch as it is springtime there is this. 

 

 

Flash grilled on the Smokey Joe.

 

From top to bottom - buttered and grill-toasted bun top, lettuce, American cheese, burger (Penzey’s prime rib rub, spritz of EVO flame-seared medium), chopped sweet onion, ketchup, mustard and homemade garden dill slices on a matching toasted bottom.

 

That would be my burger. Dress your own to personalize the culinary experience.

 

Pretty good chow; and easy fast.

 

Damn the carcinogens; full-speed ahead. Raising a toast to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

 

Real men grill on charcoal…..

Chorale

Further evidence that there is more sign of spring and less of winter there is this chorus in the evening.  

They’ve been singing for almost a couple weeks now unless the overnight temps drop to freezing.  If I step out on the porch, rap on a pillar and in my deepest director voice announce:  ‘AHEM!’  The chorus stops immediately.

It resumes in short order so clearly sway over my subjects is limited; consequently I’ll not let my authority go to my head.

I recorded this last Sunday evening - so turn-up the volume for some chorus frogs. 

(The flashing hazard lights emit from towers on Brussels Hill)

 

Bedtime

Just back from taking doggo out to tinkle before bedtime.

 

It’s quiet here in flyover country; yet now that the solstice is past things are coming to life.  Yes, even when you live halfway between the equator and the North Pole.

The Pink Moon is almost full.  The ducks are chuckling and quacking down at the big pond.

And we heard the first plaintive peents from the returning timber doodles.

Spring peepers are defrosting in the on deck circle…..
 

April Astronomy

If you are reading this you have ample notice about tomorrows' full moon - called the Pink Moon. 

The term ‘Pink Moon’ actually does not imply that the moon is pink.  The term derives from the spring appearance of native ground phlox and their pink blooms that coincides with the April full moon.  I recommend that if viewing conditions are good tomorrow night that you step outside around 9 PM so you can witness the moon at its largest.  

The April full moon is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and the Fish Moon.  The Algonquin people knew this as the Breaking Ice Moon while the Dakota identify this as the When The Ducks Come Back Moon.  These native tribal names ring true around here.

More here from the Old Farmer's Almanac... 

Spring Is Sprung and Mud is Made

I am told that it is meteorological spring here; where I live half-way between the equator and the North Pole.

In the Northern Hemisphere this is defined as the three-month period of March, April and May - commencing on March 1 and ending on May 31.  It is used by meteorologists and climatologists to align seasons with annual temperature cycles and to simplify the collection of weather data instead of using the varying dates of the astronomical equinox like the rest of us nerdy stargazers do.  But I digress.

What I know for sure is that when you score a 60F day you take your canine sidekick out for a run and let her explore the melting edges of the ice-covered pond and creek.

For sure it is Mud Season after all...  

 

 

Another Post Blizzard Report

I took this photo last night following the Sturgeon Bay Rotary Club’s annual trivia contest.

There has been considerable melting following the blizzard from a week ago.

Nevertheless, there were kids climbing and sliding on the BP’s Matterhorn at Michigan and Third Avenue.  In the foreground is the snow still bordering the sidewalk.

Nuts.

As for the trivia, hoping for a four-peat First, our Team took Second Place.

Rats.

 

Scratching Your Druid Itch

 

06.08.24 Stonehenge

The ancient Druids did not build Stonehenge.  As a matter of fact, as a consequence of a timeline mismatch they had nothing to do with it.  This monument was constructed during the Neolithic and Bronze Age and predates them by more than 1000 years.  This was long before the Celtic Druids appeared in Britain.  Any association is a 17th-century myth, although ancient Druids may have used the site for rituals just as modern-day Druids do.

As the sun grows warmer we notice small signs of life beneath our feet.  First are the crocuses and daffodils, followed by the bluebells and wood anemones. Many of us view these emergent plants as mere greenery.  Druids see life in all living things including springs, creeks, rivers, rocks and stones.  In Druidry all life is sacred.

One of the great mysteries is the Druid's egg.  Life-giving, it is the egg protected by the hare, which is the symbol of Alban Eilir, - the Festival of the Spring Equinox which means The Light Of The Earth.  As Christianity supplanted pagan festivals Christians today celebrate Easter with eggs courtesy of the Easter bunny.

Happy vernal equinox.   

The astronomical arrival of spring is a consequence of the earth’s tilt on its axis as it orbits around the sun.  Equinox from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night) means the the earth’s two hemispheres are receiving the sun’s rays equally.  On this date the sun rises exactly due east and set exactly due west with sunlight striking both hemispheres of the earth equally.   Night and day are approximately equal in length. 

As you observe the movement of the sun across the sky each day you will note that it is shifting toward the north.  Birds and butterflies begin their northward migration as a response to this change in daylight following the path of the sun.

 

It would be premature to pack-away your winter outerwear, return the snow shovels to the shed or plant a garden.  Nevertheless, this is a harbinger of the arrival of astronomical spring for those of us in the northern hemisphere.  

 

The official start time will be tomorrow, March 20, at about 9:46 AM CST (give or take). 

Astronomers base season cycles upon the position of the earth in relation to the sun.  The beginning of Astronomical Spring or the Vernal Equinox marks the time when the sun passes directly above the equator.  Meteorological spring is based-upon annual temperature cycles.  Your weatherman will tell your that meteorological spring begins March 1 and goes thru the end of May.

 

No matter how you slice it the days will grow longer, the temperatures warmer and mud season is in full swing.

Sockdolager!

Forecast was for a cessation of snowfall by 4 PM. Took these shots before 3:30. The sun is shining and the wind continues to howl out of the north. Gusts up to 60+ MPH are absolutely brutal. 

 

 

Look like we got at about 27-30 inches on the level. Reports suggest Sturgeon Bay got 35+. 

The drifts are amazing.

 

Businesses, schools and churches are closed with many of the town roads impassable. We’re on a county road and will get further attention after the state highways are completed. No power outages for us but half of the statewide total is confined to the peninsula. 

 

Waiting on our plow guy to take a stab at clearing the driveway so I can fetch the blower from the machine shed and finish digging out. 

 

Winter Storm Elsa was a whopper two day nor'easter; a real Sockdolager!