I too watch the solstices and the equinoxes, but can't really say that I associate nudity with any of them. (Then again, I don't associate bathing suits with hot tubs.) And from the evidence in Ireland, Egypt, China and the Americas (as well as many other places), noting these events has occupied a lot of time and energy from the earliest humans. Besides the example noted, places like Machu Pichu, Stonehenge and some Anasazi creations also have light phenomena associated with them. Even the pyramids at Giza show alignment to celestial happenings. (The pyrmids were cued to the rising of Sirius, about the same time as the flooding of the Nile). The time of the solstice also occurs near the time of aphelion (earth closest to the sun). This changes on a geological timescale, so our distant ancestors knew the time of the summer solstice (when we are now farthers from the sun) during really hot summers when the Earth was closer to the solar mass. Another aside, the precession of the Earth's axis, coupled with the Sun's path through the galaxy has "moved" some of the constellations. The chance alignment of the Big Dipper will be gone in 500 generations since those stars are not all close together. (The cavemen also had no dipper in the sky 10,000yrs ago.) Because of the Sun's own tilt, the Earth's precession and the passage of time, the constellations in the Zodiac do not match the calendar. There are some constellations that are almost out of the plane of the ecliptic, and some that are not included. That means that for Taurus, for instance, 30% of the time the astrologers say that we are in the House of Taurus (mid-Apr to mid-May), we are not. Also, how do you chart somebody who is born in the House of Pegasus? This is just another proof (as if any were needed) that the whole Astrology thing is bs. Also, in a similar so-what vein, the extra second we are adding to the calendar is not added to the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) base. Since this system was arrived at in the early 80's, the capacity of adding an extra second was not built in. For GPS, adding time means that every calculation has to be re-done, something they don't do. A watch set to GPS time is now seriously out of whack, something like 5 or more seconds off. One more whacky thing that comes to mind as I write, did anybody else catch the drift of the North Magnetic Pole? Although it tends to wander some (reversing sometimes too), this year it took a giant step westward. For the part of the world below the high numbered latitudes, it doesn't add much to the already off-true-north point of our compasses. But how would you like to be on Baffin Is. when you compass is off by 10° more than last year!

do what dave said ... but what he didnt say was.. and i will yell .... DO NOT MOVE THEM NOW ... its just too close to the heat of summer.. it is stressed from one planting.. and we dont want to stress it ... as the heat grows in july/august.. if you are in z5 MA ... you would do it in either late sept/oct ... when the other trees leaves turn colors. .. or immediately after ground thaw in spring.. thru the end of april ... which would give it 8 to 10 weeks to get the roots pumping water.. before the heat of next summer ... there is nothing to do about those trees .. short of buying the lot.. etc ... but i sure dont like the one giant one.. that seems to overhang your house ... which might be an optical delusion of the camera.. in the last pic .... its above a green conifer .... either the juniper or GG ... if it could fall on grass.. ignore it ... what i think about with those pix.. is the heavy machinery that was needed to build your house .. which looks rather new.. and the long term impact of soil compaction and root crushage.. on those giant old trees.. i would suspect long term .. 10 year .. decline .... ken

If you are truly doing a shade study, you draw the shade at 3 times 9:00 a.m. 12:00 noon and 3:00 p.m. using 3 colors on a map of your garden. Then do the same thing on March 20th (Spring Equinox) and June 21st (Summer Solstice). This will give you a comprehensive set of visual data on the amount of shade in your garden. Steve

While I don't believe in Nostradamus and his prophecies, much of it is already true and if we don't change the rest of it may become true at some time. Margaret Chase Smith is one person we need now in Washington, alas... The Ellen Willis quote # 1 I really like and Stanley Crouch I need also to re-read and quote a few to some people. Did I say a few days ago that I get out of politics?