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Jan Harris
Deputy Group Editor
12:00 AM 31st August 2024
nature

Is Summer Nearly Over?

 
Image by ekrem from Pixabay
Image by ekrem from Pixabay
Oh is summer really nearly over! What summer I hear you reply.

This year has been one of those where it started well and then deteriorated, having days when it could be any season of the year.

I can't quite believe that this weekend is the first of September and according to the Meteorological Seasons Autumn is on its way.

The children are going back to school and the evenings are starting to draw in.

According to meteorologists summer ends on 31 August and autumn begins on 1 September as they use the Gregorian calendar. However astronomers say that autumn begins on Sunday 22 September 2024 which is the date of the Autumn equinox.

Meteorological Seasons:
Spring : March, April, May
Summer: June, July, August
Autumn: September, October, November
Winter: December, January, February


Astronomical Seasons:
Spring Equinox - 20/21 March
Summer Solstice - 21/22 June
Autumn Equinox - 22/23 September
Winter Solstice - 21/22 December


Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash
The definition of autumn:

Autumn is the season between summer and winter when the temperature decreases, days become shorter and the nights longer. It is often called 'fall' in the US as the leaves begin to fall off the trees. This term was used in England in the 17th century and the word autumn came into use from the French automne in the 18th century.

It is often a misconception that leaves change colour in the autumn but this is because there is less daylight during the months of autumn.

The sun is much lower in the sky in autumn and this is when birds and butterflies migrate along with the path of the sun.

Image by Rebekka D from Pixabay
Image by Rebekka D from Pixabay
Some favourite things about autumn:

Seasonal food - Apple picking, foraging for blackberries, butternut squash soup, pumpkins and hot chocolate to drink.

Long walks - The countryside and woods are spectacular in the autumn with the changing colours of the leaves, often reflected in the nearby lakes and rivers.

Log fires - The summer is wonderfully warm but there is something magical about cosying up in front of a real fire.

Build up to (dare I say) Christmas! - Only 115 days to go and we all love Christmas.


Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash
Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash
When is the Autumn Equinox?

In 2024 the Autumn Equinox will be on Sunday 22 September.

Why is it called Equinox?

The word comes from the Latin aequus meaning ‘equal’ and nox meaning ‘night’. On the day of an equinox, day and night are of approximately equal length all over the world, as the Earth's rotational axis is neither tilted away from nor towards the Sun. At all other times the length of day and night will be different.

Some autumn quotes:

Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go - Unknown

Autumn wins you best by this, its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay - Robert Browning

Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonize - George Eliot

And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves... Virginia Woolf

It's the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves! - Winnie the Pooh - Pooh's Grand Adventure

Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year - Chad Sugg

Why is summer mist romantic and autumn mist just sad? – Dodie Smith

And all at once, summer collapsed into fall - Oscar Wilde

Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile - William Cullen Bryant

The leaves are all falling, and they're falling like they're falling in love with the ground - Andrea Gibson