The Summer Solstice

This Sunday is kind of a double-decker. It is Father’s Day witch is always the 3^rd Sunday in June. But this year, it is also the summer solstice. You might also know it as the beginning of summer. Each of the seasons starts with a special day – either a solstice or an equinox. Equinox means equal. It is the point where the length of daylight and night are equal. The vernal equinox is the start of spring. The autumnal equinox signals the start of fall or autumn. Solstices are the extremes. The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. The summer solstice, June 21st this year is the longest day. This is how the seasons go in the Northern Hemisphere, or north of the equator. If you go south of the equator, say to South America or Australia, then things would be reversed. Our summer is their winter and so on. In places close to the Arctic Circle the sun may never go down during summer. They say you can read a newspaper on a park bench at midnight without needing any light.

Many civilizations celebrated the summer solstice. It is believed that Stonehenge in England  was built to mark this event. On the summer solstice the Sun rises directly in the center of the stone circle.

Even though it is the longest day of the summer, it is not usually the hottest. It actually takes some time for the Northern Hemisphere to heat up. That’s why our hottest months are usually August and September. Actually here in California it has felt like summer for 3 or 4 weeks.

The summer solstice is caused by the tilt of the Earth. In the summer, the Earth tilts toward the Sun. This causes more direct sunlight to strike the Earth at a more direct angle. The Southern Hemisphere receive sunlight at a indirect angle, thus causing winter conditions. After the summer solstice, the day length gets slightly shorter every day until they become equal again at the autumnal equinox. 

Sunday, the Sun will rise early and set late. It will be the perfect time for a Father’s Day picnic in the park or a summer barbeque in the back yard. Either way, I hope you enjoy the first day of summer!

Some Things really Bug Me...

Social Media is all awash with people freaking out about drops or proposed drops of insects from planes or helicopters. Some have claimed it’s a conspiracy to infect millions of people with the next “new disease”. The three basic creatures (ticks are not insects) that people have been worrying about are: mosquitoes, ticks, and now screw flies.

There are two things to remember when reading about insect drops.

#1 many of these sites are just trying to get people to read their content because the more visitors they get, the more they get paid. So of course controversial is the go-to content. Because it’s technically their opinion, they do not have to substantiate what they say.

#2 Dropping serialized male insects to reduce populations is not new. It has been used since the 1950s. The screw worm was eradicated from the US using the technique. The recent new occurrences are basically because they haven’t kept up with it.

The basic idea for sterilized insect releases to control pests or diseases was conceived by E. F. Knipling (https://ipmworld.umn.edu/bartlett) in 1937. He used x-rays (later gamma rays) to cause sterility in male insects. It has been used around the world on a variety of beetles, flies, and mosquitoes to eradicate diseases and pests on fruits and vegetables. It is a tried and true method of control. In most species, especially mosquitoes and ticks, it is the female vector that carries the disease. The males do not feed on blood, They drink plant juices. Virtually all the released insects or other vectors are all male. So bokes of ticks dropped from planes (again not a new thing) are not feeding on other animals, they are just not reproducing. Many insects and other creatures mate only once so if it mates with a sterile male – no offspring.

Like anything, it can have issues. It is important to make sure that the insects released are truly sterilized.  One benefit is that it needs no insecticide so no resistance and no poisoning the environment with toxic chemicals. All in all, one of the better successes of applied science.

I hope this helps calms some fears for those that can’t resist scrolling. For more in depth information try this site. https://www.iaea.org/topics/sterile-insect-technique

Invisible.

Have you ever had a moment where you felt invisible? Where you wanted to find a mirror and see if you were really there? I rarely feel that way. As a teacher I’m kind of always in the limelight. Oh, I may feel like they are ignoring me, but never invisible. 

This week I found myself in one of those moments. I was on my way to the state park for a one man show day. (Meaning I was the only person on the schedule.) I decided to treat myself to a nice morning coffee. Black coffee with hazelnut and cream is my go to drink. I walked in and stood by the cash register. I was greeted with - silence. For 5 minutes I stood there. One employee walked past me 3 times without even looking at me.  I was screaming inside, “hello?!” I understand busy. I was expecting a short wait. But there was only silence. I turned around without saying a word, without being noticed, and without coffee. 

Now the day did not end up bad. After a call to customer service, I actually received $5 credit on my next visit. Still it left a lasting impression. I did not like it at all. 

I see it with the poor and homeless. That afternoon on the way home there was a man standing with a sign. He didn’t even look at the cars. Most never acknowledged him either. I usually carry some spare change just for this occasion but I realized I had left it on the dresser. All I could do is smile. The next day he was there again. My change was also still on my dresser. This time I apologized for not having anything. He just smiled and said, “It’s all good.” I hope he’s there again. I want to help people know they are seen. I may not have anything with me to meet their needs but I can at least acknowledge that they exist. We can do better. Wherever we go, let’s make the invisible seen again.