The summer and winter solstices get all the publicity, but this is a special time of year, too. It is a time of great change and provides great challenges for the survival of the plants, animals, and human inhabitants of the Earth. Locally, we barely notice it as we go about our busy lives. Summer is over and school schedules affect the lives of students and parents alike. Yet, the coastal weather is often the best of the year, as it is warm, dry and sunny and inland temperatures are mild.
Many animals migrate in the fall or winter.
The Monarch butterfly is here from October to February. Many birds leave the northern latitudes for our mild winters. Marine mammals like the elephant seal and the humpback whale migrate for feeding and breeding purposes. Ancient civilizations around the world labored hard and long to build monuments aligned to seasonal positions of the sun. Actually the sun is not doing anything different from one season to the next.