Happy Equinox Day: The first day of Spring is Here! Technically, this year the first day of Spring occurred on 3/20/2022 – even though as we saw last year, it was on the twenty-first (https://suntexllc.com/spring-has-officially-sprung/). Why the difference? For that answer, I’ll turn the online version of the Farmer’s Almanac (check it out, here: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/spring-equinox-first-day-spring).

As the article within this link will attest, the first day of spring changes because…

“Essentially, our hours of daylight—the period of time each day between sunrise and sunset—have been growing slightly longer each day since the winter solstice in December, which is the shortest day of the year (at least in terms of light).

Even though we know that after December 21st, the days start getting steadily longer, we still see more darkness than light over the course of a day in those three months leading up to spring. The vernal equinox marks the turning point when daylight begins to win out over darkness.

At this moment, the direct rays of the Sun are shining down on the equator producing the effect of equal day and night (give or take a few minutes, see below).  After the vernal equinox, the direct rays of the Sun migrate north of the Equator (with hours of daylight steadily growing longer) until they finally arrive at the Tropic of the Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees north)” (https://www.farmersalmanac.com/spring-equinox-first-day-spring).

Keep in mind that this specific set of facts about the Earth’s orbit around the sun apply to the Northern hemisphere – the Southern hemisphere would then, in turn (ha!), experience the same phenomenon of the days getting longer, following the autumn/winter equinoxes.

Though the Texas weather might fool us into believing that winter is not yet over, keep in mind that warmer days are just around the corner! I hope you have started planning and planting your spring garden, and made a plan to keep cool this summer, particularly as energy prices and demand start to climb. Should you have any questions about the energy efficiency in your home, feel free to give us a call today.

Either way, we hope you have a Happy Spring!

Happy First day of March! I’ll do my best to keep the marching puns to a minimum but unfortunately for you all, that does not mean none will occur.

While we will continue to celebrate Black American history all year long, there is a lot to celebrate in March as well! This month we celebrate Women’s Appreciation month as well as the first day of spring (Sunday, March 20^th), Saint Patrick’s Day and if you’re creative (or one of the writers at Spruce.com) – many more, check out a few others here: https://www.thespruce.com/special-days-and-observances-in-march-1448890.

Along with the holidays mentioned above, with the season officially changing in March from winter to spring, we’ll dig back into energy usage in the home and how that may change in the coming months. We’ll probably also get into a few DIY home and gardening projects, not to mention organic gardening tips; along ways to save money on home projects big and small. We’ve explored a few of these topics some in the past – feel free to browse them here:

Energy Usage: https://suntexllc.com/energy-usage-around-the-world/

DIY Home/Gardening Projects: https://suntexllc.com/home-gardens-and-cold-fronts/

Composting and Organic Gardening Tips: https://suntexllc.com/cheating-death/

However, this spring we’ll also start to get a little more detailed and pull in additional sources to better understand the subject matter pertaining to all things home improvement, particularly as they involve energy usage/storage and other energy and money-saving tips.

If you’ve been closely following along with our blog and learning more about energy and efficiency, THANK YOU!!! We’re happy to have you here and appreciate you taking the time out of your day to read each post. Please note that the blogs will be offline for a couple of weeks as we work on a few standard website edits, but we’ll be back soon and ready to discuss the summer heat and how best to mitigate it’s effects on your energy bill right after that. So, as sitcoms said in the 90’s, stay tuned!

This is the big week! I hope you’re ready to plant a tree, build a raised bed, or go for a hike to celebrate this lovely earth in all her splendor! If you’re looking for more indoor activities this weekend however, be sure to check out this Paper Mache activity for Earth Day and learn how to reuse old materials in your arts and crafts projects:

• April 18, 11:30AM CST – Earth Day Papier Mache Sculpture With Artist Kim Baise, https://www.eventbrite.com/c/virtual-earth-day-activities-ccbfwgyd/

Let’s take a deep dive into today’s calendar events and the week ahead:

• April 14, 12:00PM CST – Sustainable Cities, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-earth-convention-sustainable-cities-tickets-145492432783?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection&keep_tld=1 – for those of you living in an urban area that want to learn more about creating a sustainable environment for yourself, your family, and your neighbors, tune in today in just a few minutes!
• April 14, 6:00PM CST – Earth Day Teacher’s Workshop, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earth-day-teacher-workshop-4142021-tickets-148009356971?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection – perhaps you have a classroom full of kids, or even just a few at home that you want to teach the importance of Earth Day to, but are not sure how. Well, look no further! This workshop includes fun activities for grades K-12 to learn more about Earth Day and build their curiosity in the field of environmental sustainability.
• April 15, 12:00PM CST – Earth Day Every Day, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/earth-day-every-day-tickets-146763129471?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection – to celebrate Earth Day’s 50^th year educating and inspiring us to do more for our environment, the Dallas Environmental Quality & Sustainability and Dallas Public Library present this online series of classes geared towards celebration and education. There are several events in this series that touch on subjects ranging from gardening and landscaping, to Climate Change and what the city of Dallas is doing to prevent it, to the Ozone and how to protect it – so come check them out, starting tomorrow at noon!
• April 15, 1:30PM CST – Sing for Earth Day, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sing-for-earth-day-tickets-142706869087?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection&keep_tld=1 – tired of your same old workout routine? Well, we’ve got you covered! This Earth Day event centers around signing, moving, and celebrating Earth Day by uplifting your spirits and your voice in celebration.
• April 15, 6:30PM CST – Growing a Dye Garden with Aaron Sanders Head, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/growing-a-dye-garden-with-aaron-sanders-head-tickets-144701158059?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection – this series focuses on gardening native Texas plants with color and natural dyes in mind! Aaron will walk you through how to grow and cultivate these colorful plants, as well as harvesting and safely storing them for your next arts and crafts project. If you’ve ever read up on the harmful toxic waste produced by chemical dye companies, and wondered what you could do to prevent it, you won’t want to miss this series!
• April 17, 6:00PM CST – Growing at Home (Indoors or Outdoors), https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-hydroponics-growing-at-home-indoors-or-outdoors-earth-day-tickets-146153018613?aff=ebdssbeditorialcollection – ever wanted to learn more about hydroponics? Well, you’re at the right place! This course will walk you through how to grow your own healthy garden indoors, and all-in-one system sales will go towards planting trees for Earth Day!

Keep an eye out for more events to come this week and next as we ramp up to Earth Day 2021!

As promised, this month we’ll be exploring more celebrations of Earth Day around the world. For just a few additional ideas on what you can do to get involved this year leading up to the big day, check out the following list of virtual Earth Day activities from eventbrite.com: https://www.eventbrite.com/c/virtual-earth-day-activities-ccbfwgyd/ – many of these events are free, though some are not – so check out your favorites and be sure to add reminders to your calendar because there are several starting this week! I’ll continue to post reminders for this link throughout the month so you don’t forget. Happy Early Earth Day!

Happy Easter 2021 everyone! I hope you had a fun-filled Sunday and a restful weekend. Whether or not you celebrate the holiday of Easter, I hope you still ate some delicious food, and were the first to the cascarones every time. These days, particularly during COVID, are sacred – time spent with family, celebrating the continuous growth and development of the little ones, celebrating milestones in your lives, and giving thanks to each brand new day. While this time period will certainly be marked with difficulty, I hope you’re able to take stock in all those around you that continue to bring you joy none-the-less. So with that I say, Happy/Hoppy Easter to you all, and see you next week!

Since today is the first day of April, Earth Day is just around the corner – April 22, 2021 – so it’s time to start picking out a tree, and a spot to put it! Even if you don’t have any space in your own yard for planting, or don’t want the shade cover, there are plenty of Earth Day activities to plan for around this great state. For example, if you’re feeling active, there is an “Earth Day Challenge Run/Walk” tomorrow – you just sign up, log your miles, and see if you can run the distance of the equator, collectively of course (https://stayhappening.com/e/2021-earth-day-challenge-run-walk-carrollton-E3LUS9MUSXEL); or, if you’d like to learn more about Earth restoration projects, feel free to sign up for one of the many events MSU is hosting this month virtually, here: https://wichitafallsarts.org/event/earth-day-2021-msu-texas/2021-04-07/; whereas if you’re in the Round Rock area on April 24^th, the Parks and Recreation department is hosting an Earth Day Festival at Old Settlers Park (check it out here: https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/special-events/earth-day-festival/). If your address is in one of the many Houston area-codes, you’re in luck – the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center is holding an Earth Day Celebration on April 17^th – learn more about it here: https://houstonarboretum.org/event/earth-day-celebration/. For those in San Antonio, don’t fret – there’s plenty going on in your fare city on April 24^th as well, including the Planet Proctors Day Camp at the Witt Museum (https://sanantonio.kidsoutandabout.com/content/planet-protectors-day-camp). If you have another event or celebration in mind, and you’d like to share it, feel free to add it in the comments section! I thank you in advance for your contributions.

If you’re like me, and thought that the Spring Equinox fell on March 21^st every year, you would be wrong for 2021! I was waiting to post about it until today, however the first official day of spring was yesterday, March 20, 2021.

What is the spring equinox? It’s a sign that the days will continue to start getting longer and longer, but for a more scientific answer, check out the following link (https://www.space.com/vernal-equinox-2021-spring-arrival-equal-day-night) which states, “Spring will officially arrive on Saturday morning (March 20) with the occurrence of the vernal equinox. That occurs when the sun will be positioned directly over the Earth’s equator at 09:37 Universal Time; 5:37 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time or 2:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. At that particular moment, the sun will appear to shine directly overhead from a point 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of Meru, in Kenya; a city of approximately 241,000 residents.

From that moment, until the occurrence of the summer solstice on June 20, the sun will appear to migrate northward and the length of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere will continue to increase. As the altitude of the midday sun gets progressively higher, the arc that it takes across the sky will also increase. On the date of the equinox, the sun will rise due east and will set due west.”

What does this mean for solar customers? Now is the time to go solar and start saving on your monthly electricity bill! With summer just around the corner, and longer days, full of sunshine, those solar panels are poised to help support the high energy demand on the grid, and keep your house cool even when we get to those triple digit days. Call us today for a free quote!

The weekend is here, and the weather forecast looks fabulous. Time to break out the shorts and tank tops, go outside, and have some fun. Don’t forget the sunblock too, now that our famous Texas heat is back. The end of the week is a great time to do some gardening and other home improvements, catch up on chores, read your favorite book, or go out and meet up with friends and family. How will you take advantage of the weather this weekend?