The Time Between

Summer doesn’t officially end until 3/4 through the month of September and, yet, the whole of the U.S. seems to belive that Labor Day is THE END.  Thank you, but no.  This is the time when summer is really good.  Harvests are heavy.  There’s a little less traffic on the road.  It’s starting to be cooler.  The only possible down side is the shift in the angle of the sun and the getting shorter days. Take this time between the unofficial end of summer and the real end to appreciate what you find to be the choice bits of the season. 

For me that means:

  • Visiting the coast (actually this is perfect in every season but summer has its own look)
  • Eating all the local fresh fruits and veggies that are available–in large quantities!
  • Going for a bike ride
  • Going swimming
  • Hiking (good in most seasons too)
  • Barbecuing
  • Reading outside in the shade

I’ll be focusing on doing as many of the above as possible at the same time as I’m working on the next issue of the magazine (look for the Autumn issue early next season) so the blog will likely be quieter than usual for a while.  What’s on your best of summer list?  There’s no time like Labor Day Weekend to find out.  Enjoy your summer.

Time

ClocksThere never seems to be enough time in the right parts of the day. Of course, the whole point of Quarterly Speed Bump Magazine is to get people (myself included) to slow down and relax rather than feel like every moment of every day should be filled with busyness or business. I just read a four part series on Time on the NPR 13.7 Cosmos and Culture Blog. Great food for thought there. As the author (& astrophysicist), Adam Frank, says in the final part of the time series:

Can you cancel just one appointment next week? How about leaving early enough for an appointment that you have time to hang around and just wait? How about keeping some version of a Sabbath — a day where you don’t buy anything or drive anywhere or accomplish any damn thing? Finally, and most important, how about just slowing down?

Really.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. The entirety of Adam Frank’s blog series on Time can be found at the following links to the Cosmos and Culture blog:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Take the time to read the series and see what you think. You don’t have to agree but it’s great thought fodder. Also, Frank has a new book out that, when I have the time (hahaha), I’ll be checking out.

Silver Lining

There’s a storm rolling in so the cloud cover is going to foil my viewing of the Leonid meteors tonight (as would the brightness of the moon if there were no cloud cover). So, I decided to appreciate the clouds instead:

Clouds

Clouds=Not so bad after all.

And then I found this cool society, The Cloud Appreciation Society, online. They have a huge photo gallery of clouds. Heck, they even have a music player of cloud-related songs. I think I’m a fan. My local library branch has a copy of the book written by the society’s founder, too. Guess what I’m reading next?

All this is to say that looking at clouds is a worthwhile thing to do. It’s relaxing. When’s the last time you went outside and just looked up, noticed the clouds, and breathed? Try it today. The cumulonimbus to the west might look like a giant chasing a rabbit but, if you don’t look, you’ll miss it.