Times and Seasons

Is it just me, or does time seem to fly lately?

It seems like Summer began just a short time ago, but this coming Sunday will be the first day of Autumn. In the northern hemisphere that means the weather will be cooling off and leaves on deciduous trees will be changing color from green to yellow, orange, and red.

This planet has always had four seasons. There have always been days, with morning, noon evening, and night. Months have always existed, though not exactly as our calendar says. And there have always been years as the Earth circles the sun.

But hours, minutes, seconds, and weeks are human inventions.

And Caesar Augustus stole one day from February in the Roman calendar and added it to August so the month named after him would have as many days as the month named after Julius Caesar. (In the Roman calendar February was the last month of the year because the year began with the first month of Spring.) Before that all the months alternated between 30 and 31 days. Yes, February had 30 days before one was moved to August.

Autumn is my favorite season. As Goldilocks would say, it’s not too hot, not too cold, and just right. And there’s less pollen to bother my allergies than in Spring.

What’s your favorite season?