Here Comes Summer–Officially

Summer arrives on the calendar at 6:07 A.M. this Thursday June 21. As always, the season's calendar is packed with events. Some are already underway, like Great Barrington's Free Summer Concerts.  Others are coming soon, like our own Sounds of Summer series, Tuesday nights in July & August.

Summer's arrival for us also marks the longest days of the year. On Thursday, the Old Farmer's Almanac tells us, we'll be graced with 15 hours and 15 minutes of daylight, with sunrise at about 5:17 A.M. and sunset at 8:33 P.M. (I know you're doing the math. Some extra seconds have been rounded into those times).  Actually, we've had 15:15 of daylight since June 15, and that total won't start slipping back until the 26th.  But let's not quibble over seconds and just call June 21 our longest day.

If you have south Florida friends who like to always update you on their weather in the winter, next time you can say, "Yeah, but your 1st day of Summer was a minute and a half shorter than ours in the Berkshires!". The length of days varies the farther north or south you go.

Keeping that in mind, if you want to enjoy a longer start to summer head to Bangor, Maine. The June 21 sun will rise earlier there, at 4:49 A.M. and stick around for 15 hours, 35 minutes.

No matter how long these summer days are, they always seem to pass too quickly. Take "time" to enjoy the season!