The Fall Equinox

By Mike Sullivan, President, USP

The fall equinox marks the sun’s crossing above Earth’s equator, moving from north to south. This year, the equinox fell at 1:04 UTC Sept. 23, 2023, which was 6:04 p.m. Sept. 22 for us Mountain Standard Time folks.

The name equinox comes from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). On this equinox, the sun crosses above Earth’s equator, moving from north to south. So, for everyone across the globe, days and nights are nearly equal in length.

Remember when September meant summer was over? The care-free days of a youngster barely last the blink of an eye when considered over a lifetime but the memories last forever. 

As kids, we rarely looked at a calendar (maybe because we subconsciously didn’t want to be reminded) but we knew what was coming. July — summer had just begun. There were LOADS of days left to do everything you could possibly imagine doing over the entirety of the summer. But like a snake in the grass, August crept in without anyone noticing. And suddenly, it was half over and the countdown to September was on. And, if Labour Day came early, September was going to last forever.

Nowadays, there often aren’t enough hours in a day, let alone days in a week or weeks in a month, to get everything done. Days spent playing baseball (and thinking about playing baseball) are now consumed by meetings, deadlines, phone calls. The dreaded calendar is my opponent and it always seems to win!

But time is fleeting so, come rain or shine, I continue to do my best to get out every single day to take some time for me, get some exercise and change the scenery a little. I urge you to do the same. Although fall has just started, winter is coming, and along with it, limited daylight and not-so-favourable weather. I’m already counting the days to the winter solstice!