The light of late August

Can you tell the difference between January and August just by the quality of the light?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about questions the internet can’t answer. Here’s an example.

Imagine an experiment where you put someone in a coma…yes, okay, a thought experiment, not a real experiment.¹ You put someone in a coma and then wake them up, but conceal from them any knowledge of what time of year it is. No calendars. No holiday decorations. No clues to month or season. Then you expose them to daylight.

Could they tell what time of year it was just by the quality of the light?

Yes, friends, these are the things I spend my time wondering about. Namely, does late August sunlight really look as different as I think it does from January sunlight? Or April sunlight? Or is that all in my head?

Being able to tell the time of year solely by the light isn’t a skill we ever needed as humans in our deep past. Hunter-gatherers were never in much doubt about what season they were in because they were already paying close attention to nature. Their survival depended on it.

Obviously, if you pay close attention in a specific place, you notice the way the sun is in a different position in the sky at different times of the year. In June, my lounger was in the shade of the party pavilion at noon. In August, it’s still in the sun. It’ll stay that way through March, when I’ll be glad to be have some sunlight.

The party pavilion in late August light

But when I talk about the quality of the light, I’m not talking about the sun’s position in the sky.² I’m talking about a certain August softness that’s not there in January, when the light is crisper. August’s light is a fading. January’s light is sharp-edged against your skin.

Or is that all in my head? That’s the question I’m trying to answer.

I do know that the sounds of August are different. There are more cicadas and crickets. A lot of birds have already headed south. The ones that are still around have less to say as they get ready for the slow fade to winter. Our yard is lonelier now, less riotous and more quiet lullaby. It’s a tired space, getting ready for a much-needed rest.

August is butterflies and sunflowers, both looking a little worse for the wear. It’s the final victory of the vines before the cold comes for us all. It’s high clouds in a wide sky with deep blue-colored bottoms. It’s the first crunch of leaves underfoot and the beginning fade of green.

It’s all that, but is the light different, too? Or I am I just, as usual, seeing everything through the filter of my own transitions?

What do you think? Is the light in August actually different, or is it just me?

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1. No people were actually put in comas in the writing of this newlsetter.

2. Or maybe I am because they’re basically the same thing? I don’t know. I’m not an astronomer or a meteorologist or whoever would know this sort of stuff.