Spring - March 1 to May 31
Summer – June 1 to August 31
Autumn – September 1 to November 30
Winter - December 1 to February 28
We are currently using the Gregorian calendar, at least most of us on the planet are. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar today. It is derived from the Julian calendar and was named after Pope Gregory XIII who decreed the new calendar on February 24, 1582. The years in the Gregorian calendar continue from the Julia calendar which began from the traditional birth year of Jesus, the ‘anno Domini’ (AD) era, sometimes referred to today as the ‘common era’ (CE). The change occurred to correct the Julian calendar which was slightly too long and consequently Easter was slowly drifting forward in the calendar. The solution was the addition of the leap year and the subtraction of ten days from the Julian calendar. The leap year rule states: Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100; the centurial years that are exactly divisible by 400 are still leap years. For example, the year 1900 is not a leap year; the year 2000 is a leap year.
Without leap year, apparently Easter would ultimately fall on Halloween and Pope Gregory decided that kids already get enough candy on Halloween and if they got Easter candy around the same time it would not be good for their teeth and it would make them hyper-active due to an enormous sugar rush. So he adopted the Gregorian Calendar
Ok, enough of the Gregorian Calendar. As stated in the first line of this blog entry, the only true calendar, at least for the Northern Hemisphere, is the Bud Calendar. It can also be referred to as the Budorian Calendar. In order to prove that Budorian Calendar is correct let me ask you some questions:
1. When it is December 12th and the snow is 12 inches deep on your front lawn do you say, what a lovely autumn day? Of course not, you say it’s a cold winter day,
2. When it is June 2nd, the kids are out of school, its 85 degrees, the sun is shining and the grass is green do you say what a nice spring day? Of course not, you say what a lovely summer day.
I could go on for the other two seasons but I think you understand my point. So with all of us now agreeing the Budorian Calendar is the only true calendar, we now realize that we have only 27 more days of summer ahead of us. Say it at loud a couple of times: “There are only 27 more days of summer left.”
That is spooky. Where has the summer gone? I have not done most of the things I planned to do. I am still working on the wild part of the yard removing small trees, bushes and weeds. It looks like that before I am done, the leaves will be turning to their dazzling autumn colors and then they will start falling. Then I will have to rake them and bag them. Then the leaves will be gone and it will snow. Then I will have to shovel the snow. Then it will be spring and I will have to do spring clean up. Then it will be summer and…….
I am 58 years old. After considering the speed of the seasons, I think I will be 68 in about seven weeks.
So my advice is sit on the patio tonight with a glass of wine or a cold lemonade and look at the trees, look at the lawn and look at the flowers. Listen to the bugs, birds and squirrels chirping or singing or making whatever noise they are making. Watch the dusk come and feel the summer air cool down. Think about how wonderful summer is. Don’t think about the debt crisis, the democrats, the republicans, or the tea party. Think about planning at least one more barbeque with friends and family. Think about how good it feels to walk barefoot on your lawn on a summer evening. Think about how goofy your men friends look in shorts.
Most importantly, give thanks to me for developing the Budorian Calendar.