Happy Autumnal Equinox! The Autumnal Equinox is simply the first day of Autumn or Fall. At 4:40 pm on 22nd of September 2008, we enter into the “Equinox” which simply means that the daylight is the same length as the night. So, 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. In the springtime around March 21st this phenomenon is called the Vernal Equinox.
Since the Earth has a 23 degree axis tilt, we experience the changing of the seasons depending upon how much sunlight shines on the Earth. Now in the Southern Hemisphere they experience the opposite weather patterns. In other words, their winters are our summers and vise versa.
The first day of winter and summer are called solstices. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year with the longest night; while the summer solstice is the exact opposite, with the longest day and the shortest night.
As a gardener, you'll notice the days begin to slowly shorten as the sunsets earlier and the sunrise is later. Between now and the first frost, some of the leaves will begin their annual autumn ritual of changing colors. Fall is a lovely time to enjoy your urban gardens.
Click on the image above for more information about Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. My 6 year-old daughter fell in love with Acadia from a picture book on the National Parks of the USA. We've never had the pleasure to visit Acadia National Park, but we certainly can enjoy the beautiful fall foliage from our computer screen.
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