Greetings From Fairyland

December 18, 2015.
Sunset 4:52 PM. Oakland, CA


We’ve passed the dip into the earliest sunset and are on our way up! However the sunrise is still outpacing the sunset, also moving later each day- so the daylight continues to shrink. But only for a few more days. We can almost hold our breath now.

In the meantime: here's a chance to celebrate the sunset at Fairyland in Oakland with the Pacific Boychoir.

Happy Holidays!

the light IS coming!

November 29, 2015.
Sunset 4:52 PM. San Francisco, CA

Almost at the low point. We are approaching the lower end of the curve for the earliest sunset of the year.

At this latitude,  the sunset has lingered at the same time for several days in a row. And at 4:52PM, it’s one minute away from the earliest sunset, which will occur on December 1st.

The sun will then continue to set at 4:51 until mid December, when it will tip forward and continue to creep later into the evening.  However, the days continue to grow even shorter until the Solstice because  the sun continues to rise later and later each day.

The light is coming!

Where have all the goblins gone?

October 31, 2015
Sunset 6:13PM. Oakland, CA


Halloween madness with some amazing birds and a couple of princess interpretations- one ballerina and one with a bucket.

First Sunset

October 29, 2015 
Sunset 6:15PM. Alameda, CA 

 
Farewell my dear friend. I'd hoped to find or be somewhere nice at sunset this evening, but I was in my car in an unfamiliar neighborhood- So this is it- an ordinary street on the first sunset with no Sally in the world.

Blood Moon Total Eclipse- (you just can't see it yet)

September 27, 2015. 
Sunset 7:01 PM. San Francisco 

Today was the day- Sunrise and sunset were both at 7:01- slicing the day in half.

I lured Norman and my nephew Paul from Montana up onto the roof with the expectation that we would all see the partially eclipsed blood moon rising opposite the sunset this evening. Too bad there were all those buildings and trees in the way. The plan was to watch the sun set into the ocean (fog along the horizon obscured that) and then to turn around and see what would have been a 3/4 eclipsed moon rising behind us.

Well, you can imagine it, and it was really nice up on the roof anyway.

last few minutes of daylight

September 23, 2015. San Francisco
Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 7:07 PM

Fall Equinox (equal day and night at the equator). At this latitude, however, we still have a few extra minutes of light.  Our day of equal light and darkness- the Equilux- arrives on the 26th or 27th depending on the source. Stay tuned.

Celebrating Sunset # 25,568

Sunset 8:04 PM. August 15, 2015
San Francisco


How many times has the sun set during your lifetime so far?
Norman was born on August 14, 1945,the day Japan surrendered to the Allies. We celebrated his birthday this evening while he was out enjoying one of his favorite things: driving around in his car. 
Happy 70th Birthday and Happy 25,568th Sunset!

old friends- vicarious sunset

Sunset 6:00 PM. July 2, 2015
Quepos (near Manuel Antonio), Costa Rica

From Joe: Here’s where I was standing-

Joe was one of my brother's best friends, and they spent many a wild day together in their youth before setting down to family life. We have stayed in touch since my brother passed away several years ago, and here is a sunset Joe sent from a recent family trip to Costa Rica.

the last of the latest

July 3, 2015. Sunset 8:31 PM
Brooklyn, NY

This it: the end of the latest sunsets (10 in a row) for the year in Brooklyn. Now we begin turning in towards less light from both ends. Fortunately, it still feels like a lot of light and the progression is pretty gradual. Plus the kids still have a lot of summer left and don’t really care about any of this.

Speaking of kids, there is some ecstatic bell ringing and little Doppler near end of this.

Congratulations Mia and Neil!

June 27 2015. Sunset 8:31 PM
Long Island City, NY

Wedding bells!

Happy Solstice- LOUD and clear!

Sunset 8:34 PM. Chapel of the Chimes 
June 21, 2015. Solstice. Oakland, CA  
My video of the sunset bell ringing didn't turn out too bad after all so here is another view of the sunset observance. It was really great!

Solstice Sunset at Garden of Memory

Sunset 8:34 PM. Oakland, CA
June 21, 2015

ckuslasa (on YouTube) shot this really nice video of the vent- It's much better quality than mine so I hope he or she doesn't mind my sharing it here. The whole evening was amazing. Many thanks to Sarah Cahill and all the other performers who made it possible.

And hooray and thanks to all who participated in the sunset bell ringing. What a fabulous noise!!

Bottoming Out

Earliest Sunrise- Flatline
June 10, 2015 

Sunrise 5:47 AM. San Francisco, CA

Beginning today and for the next 9 days, the sunrise will be at its earliest moment for the year (at this latitude). By the Solstice, it will already have been rising later, squeezing daylight away from the morning side of things.

I love how this happens. The longest day is on the Solstice, but that is not because it is the earliest sunrise and latest sunset of the year. It’s not that symmetrical. Check out this chart from 2008 to see how rates of slowdown and expansion work for each end of the day and enjoy the sound of the earliest sunrise of the year. (It’s been the same every year so far)

Listen. It was raining this morning!!!

If you are interested in finding out when sunrise in your location “bottoms out”, go to sunrisesunset.com and plug in your location.

May Day May Day

May 1, 2015

Sunrise 6:15 AM.

Although it may seem trivial or silly in the light of the tremendous weight and darkness and horror of what is happening in the world, Lucy, my goldfish of 20 years passed away recently. She outlived 2 companions, several tumors and spent the last year and a half partially paralyzed from a stroke. An enthusiastic eater and cheerful companion to the end - we miss her.

Sunset 7:59 PM

 
The Cardew Choir celebrated their 14^th Anniversary with a concert this evening at Berkeley Arts. Named in honor and in the spirit of Cornelius Cardew, the ensemble is deeply committed to values of community and egalitarianism and May Day is an especially significant day as it commemorates International Workers Day. As always, I enjoyed the ensemble’s well-rehearsed performances and commitment to their original ideals and inspiration. Many thanks for beginning the evening with a sunset bell ringing!

Anzac Day 2015

April 25, 2015. 

Sunrise 6:21AM. Nobby’s Beach, New Castle, New South Wales

This sunrise video was taken by my friend, Lynne Piade at the Dawn Service commemoration of Anzac Day. Originally a day of remembrance for the anniversary of the landing on Gallipoli in 1915, Anzac Day is a day of observance for all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all the “wars, conflictsand peace keeping operations”.

Good Morning Austin!

April 23, 2015. 
Sunrise 6:56 AM. Austin, TX.

Thank you Ginger Miles for this quiet, green morning. So many birds!

dirty cars and parched earth

April 22, 2015. Earth Day. 
Sunset 7:51PM. San Francisco.


My little piece of parched earth.

Is it Spring yet? Please

April 6, 2015
Sunset 7:24 PM. Brooklyn, NY 

Even though I announce the time and call it the sunrise- it’s really the sunset. 7:24 AM happens in deep, dark winter. And today felt like the tipping point into Spring- No buds on the trees yet and I know there will be one more snowfall this month (there always is) but it felt great!
I love these bells. Enjoy!.

Light Balance

March 18, 2015

Sunrise and Sunset 7:04. Brooklyn, NY

 

This Friday, March 20^th we celebrate the first day of spring and the vernal Equinox. And unless you live at the equator, you should also be able to celebrate the fact that we have already passed into longer days. It may be only by a minute or two, but we’re headed into the light.

FYI-Another bonus is the supermoon that will rise on the evening of the 20^th. And if you live on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic, you will have a great view of the total solar eclipse during the day. (partial eclipse location info here)

It’s an unusually big kick off this year- Happy Spring!

PS Nice photos of the supermoon

Sprung ahead 2015

March 8, 2015

Sunset 7:09 PM. San Francisco, CA

Well, this is the first of many sunsets in what has become the predominant time schedule for the year. Every year brings an outcry to kill off the sudden jolt to DST. However, as we now spend almost 8 months of the year observing Daylight Savings Time, while making only a brief nod to what used to be Standard time during the darkest days of the year, it doesn’t seem very likely we will stop. 

I do like the idea of a smooth, continuous cycling through the year- with no abrupt changes. But, which way would we go? Where would we stay? In Standard Time with earlier sunsets in the summer? I really enjoy those late night twilights. Or in Daylight Savings Time, where if we maintained it during the winter, it would still be dark at 8:00 in the morning.

SMIP: Syntex Made It Possible

March 4, 2015

Sunset 6:05 PM. Woodside, CA

Besides the revolution in reproductive freedom for women, the work and legacy of Carl Djerassi continues to make many things possible- including this gentle moment. Pauline Oliveros makes this sunset offering during a gathering at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program as part of the 20^th anniversary of Other Minds. 

 

More quiet times...one month later...

February 15, 2015

5:34 PM. Lambertville, NJ

 Sitting in same chairs. Watching same TV. Dog still sleeping.  What's changed? It's much colder outside. The sunset is 45 minutes later. There are 3 of us (besides the dog) ringing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (instead of Blue Bloods). 

If I was a groundhog, I wouldn't get up either

February 2, 2015
Sunrise 7:05 AM. Brooklyn, NY

Snowy and dark. No groundhogs in sight. Not a bad idea.

Quiet times

January 16, 2015
Sunset 4:58 PM. Lambertville, NJ

Just sharing a quiet moment at sunset in New Jersey with my dad, his friend’s poodle and Blue Bloods.

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