When we moved to Milwaukee, it was August. I remember it especially well because it was unusually hot and sticky for Milwaukee, rained all the time, and made moving a real chore--especially since we were moving into an un-air conditioned apartment. I was also struck by the by the number of people that seemed to revel in the great outdoors--even in all that heat. I wondered how they could stand it and retreated to the quite cool of my bedroom (complete with window-box air conditioner). However, after living here for a few weeks I no longer marveled at the blistering heat, but at the dramatic decrease in sunlight we experienced.
At the peak of summer, Milwaukee gets about 15.5 hours of sunlight. By the end of July, we're down to just 14.5 hours. By September--a mere 13 hours which really starts to be noticeably. By the dead of winter, we get just under 9 hours of sunlight. That is extremely noticeable. Especially when you consider that Utah and Virginia get about 9.5 at their low. However, Milwaukee also seems to get more cloudy days per year since it is always snowing so that loss of 1/2 hour really starts to take a toll. In fact, I distinctly remember last year when the weather reporters kept a running total of "days without sun." I think we were up around 50 days in a row or so when the clouds finally parted and let a little light through.
And so, with those facts on my mind (and the fact that every morning for the past week has seemed oddly sunless), I began to bid farewell to the delightful embrace of sunlight. I will enjoy it as much as is humanly possible until it fades, but for now: Goodbye monsieur le soleil. You've been a swell pal this summer. See you next year.
1 comment:
Holy cow! That is a lot less light. We do have days of inversion though - which really stink. Did you know that my Dad's worst day of the year is the summer solstice. He hates thinking about losing all that daylight. We were really glad when Eli was born on Dec. 21st - she brought back the sun :)
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