Humans have followed the cycles of the Sun for millennia. Stone circles like this, dating back more than 3,000 years, are aligned to the Solstices and the Equinoxes. From The Electronic Sky.

Here I am taking a little break from working several hours on my images in PhotoShop, wishing I knew some of the more advanced techniques. Bit by bit over time, I’ve progressed in my learning, mostly by trying things out, reading books and the “Help” section and sometimes a few tips from those more knowledgeable.

This evening is the autumnal equinox, in the northern hemisphere, that is. Down Under it’s the vernal equinox. Our nights here are cool, but we’re having gorgeous sunny days. Only a few trees, suffering from drought, are changing colours yet in our balmy Canadian West Coast. I rather hope for a frost to bring out those brilliant colours, but not just yet! Often it comes too late, after the leaves have fallen. In my growing up years in Winnipeg, fall was my favourite time of the year, for after an early frost we’d have a glorious Indian Summer. I have wonderful memories of walking to school through crisp and colourful leaves. Here those leaves are rarely crisp!

Enjoy a look at Eric Weisstein’s World of Astronomy and especially the QuickTime movie illustrating the tilt of the Earth’s equatorial plane relative to the Sun which is responsible for the seasons.
Happy equinox! Now back to work.