Every winter I look out at our icy, snow-covered patio and think, “Next summer I should spend time out on the patio!” But once a windy, chilly spring turns into a hot muggy summer, I don’t actually get out nearly as often as I might. This morning though, it was warm in the early morning, giving me a chance to get out while there was still lots of shade. (I have since pulled most of the weeds visible in the graveled areas.)
I have long imagined a DIY project for a self-adjusting sundial. You put it down on any flat surface and it uses a magnetometer and a small motor to find north and orient itself correctly, and then uses a GPS and another small motor find the latitude and set the angle of the gnomon.
Chilly and blustery today, but sunny and not at all dreary. Strong winds overnight took down nearly all the leaves—but not the ones on the sycamores!
Spent an hour on the patio, gradually pushing my chair back, keeping in the sweet spot—in the shade but not in the puddle produced by the gutter—until my feet and shanks had been exposed to as much sun as I thought wise.
Perhaps because he didn’t know the term photobiomodulation,
Taking my coffee out on the patio, watching the dawn light up the trees. A nice change from sitting at the computer.
Exposing your skin to dawn/dusk sunlight (UV index near zero) for 30 minutes provides at least 24 hours of protection against sunburn.
Working on not missing so many sunrises. 📷
Happily, except for playgrounds, outdoor public spaces are still open where I live.
The outdoors and sunshine are such strong factors in fighting viral infections that a 2009 study of the extraordinary success of outdoor hospitals during the 1918 influenza epidemic suggested that during the next pandemic (I guess this one!) we should encourage “the public to spend as much time outdoors as possible,” as a public-health measure.
Source: Closing the Parks Is Ineffective Pandemic Theater – The Atlantic
In person the sky on the first day of Daylight Saving Time is all pinky-purple, even if this photo makes it look rather orange. 📷
