Equal Time...

The Equinox marks the time when the sun is directly over the equator, the moment that half the sun’s light falls on the northern hemisphere and half falls on the southern hemisphere. This year that moment happened at 3:50am EDT. On this day, if you can see the horizon, you can mark due east or due west when the sun transitions into or out of sight. Strangely enough, this day is not the day that has equal minutes of light and dark.  That happens on Sept 27, at least in my area.

  Edward and I have a collection of four lead crystals. Each one represents a season. A snowflake for winter, such as it is in Florida, a rain drop for spring, a round crystal for the sun in summer, and a leaf for fall.  We try to change them out on the holiday, but we often forget. Sometimes we forget for weeks. But not this year.

  This evening we remembered to change the crystal on the day. As I hung the crystal, the sun shone through the trees in the back yard setting the prayer flags hung on the porch aglow. That light shone through the crystal, half green, half red.

  In Florida, this date marks the beginning of the end of summer. This morning, on the day the sun passes to the south, Mother Nature gave her first real hint of the cooler weather to some. She’s not done with us yet, but as we move towards shorter days we celebrate the passing of summer, the coming of fall and changing of the seasons.