March 29, 2024
Local News | Bureau County Republican


Local News

Welcome fall

Mark your calendars, and set your watches. Fall officially begins at 9:21 a.m. (CST) on Thursday, Sept. 22. Unlike an event like a New Year’s celebration that is dictated by time zones around the world, fall happens at the same moment around the globe.

There are two equinoxes every year — vernal and autumnal — which mark the beginning of spring and fall, respectively. Those seasonal equinoxes are opposite for the northern and southern hemispheres.

The autumnal equinox occurs at the moment the sun crosses an imaginary line in the sky that corresponds to the Earth’s equator, and basically that moment happens every year on Sept. 22, 23 or 24.

While fall is known for many things, perhaps the most obvious to all is the length of daylight that dwindles each day and will continue to do so until the winter solstice or the first day of winter in December.

But other than the amount of daylight in the fall, celebrating the season involves a host of activities not usually seen at other times of the year. From admiring the colorful leaves and raking them too, to cooler weather, to shirking the sleeveless and shorts to donning the sweatshirts and jeans, the season is a colorful one embraced by many.

At right, Kelsey Funderberg (left) and Margie Martin display some of the fall mums and Halloween planters at Neighborhood Ace Hardware on Princeton’s North Main Street — another sure sign fall is in the air. Pumpkins, mums, gourds, squash ... the bounty of fall is upon us.