Southbound Again

A month from now the sun will set as far south on the horizon as it ever gets.


In June the sun set in Long Beach. By August it was setting on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Then it drifted out to sea; as of a couple of days ago it was setting on the western tip of Catalina Island, which means it has traveled 26 miles across the channel.


So far, the temperature hasn't flagged. 85 degrees Fahrenheit in Long Beach today (30 Celsius), and it feels like late August. To keep the average where it's supposed to be for the year, we're going to have to compensate with about a week of subzero weather sometime in December.


Each time my panorama stretches wider and the landmarks get smaller. I haven't gone to measure anything with a protractor, but the migrating sun has swept across a good-sized hunk of the horizon in its march, from setting almost due west to almost due south. I recently found the compass I used to carry around when I was a boy. Maybe next time I go watch the day end, I'll bring it along.