In researching this post, I found some interesting data on the topic that reveals nature’s perfect plan for those four periods of time we call the seasons. I’ve selected a few images we captured in the Hot Springs area over the past year to illustrate.

There are four key dates in the year. These occur on the 21st day of March, June, September and December.

March 21st is the Vernal Equinox and represents the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. It is the point at which the Sun crosses the Equator as it travels northwards. At this time day and night are of equal length, hence equinox – ‘equal night’. Here in the southern Black Hills, spring is a time of new beginnings as bright green grassy fields emerge from their winter sleep, and newborn baby buffalo calves and deer fawns make their entrance:

It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! ~Mark Twain

The 21st of June is the Summer Solstice or Midsummer’s Day in the northern hemisphere, when the Sun has reached its further point north of the Equator (Tropic of Cancer). As more sunlight reaches the northern hemisphere the days last longer than the nights. The day after, the sun begins to travel south and the days start to shorten. In our area, it’s time to grab a bucket and harvest juicy wild mountain raspberries, serviceberries, and chokecherries, found in abundance all over the Black Hills, ripe for the picking:

Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world. ~Ada Louise Huxtable

September 21st is the Autumnal Equinox when the sun crosses the Equator going south. The colors of Autumn in the Black Hills are particularly striking and varied. Wildlife are readying for winter, most of our summer visitors have returned to their homes, and the quiet, crisp beauty of this time of year is both relaxing and inspirational:

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. ~Stanley Horowitz

December 21st is the Winter Solstice and is shortest day in the northern hemisphere; it is the middle of summer in the southern hemisphere. The Sun has reached its furthest point of travel south – the Tropic of Capricorn. The Hot Springs area offers some of the most awe-inspiring sights you’ll find anywhere in the winter months. With warm, spring-fed Fall River winding its way through town, you’ll find a breathtaking view of ethereal steam against the crisp new-fallen snow each morning:

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~Edith Sitwell

The seasons are, of course, reversed in the southern hemisphere – autumn in March, winter in June, spring in September and summer in December.

If you grew up in a place where you were able to enjoy the changing seasons, but moved to another climate, you might find yourself missing the beauty of these four special times of year. If those magical, mystical seasons are beckoning you back, there’s no better place to enjoy their loveliness than in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Here we enjoy mild winters, an arid climate that keeps summertime temperatures comfortable, and breath taking scenery at any time of year.

We don’t want you to miss a thing.

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Somewhere in the back of your mind, you dream. You dream of a world where time doesn’t move so fast, where the air is clear and the sky is blue, and the cost of living is reasonable. Imagine a place, your own personal “Shangra-La”, where you wake up and look out the window to see wild deer, turkeys, and squirrels frolicking in your back yard. And now imagine that you only need ten minutes to get ready for work; yep, you can have that second cup of coffee and relax. You can do that because you’ll be walking to work today, and you’ll be there six minutes after you walk out the door. Imagine a life where you actually get to spend quality time with your spouse and kids. In this dream scenario you don’t waste hours every day on a long, stressful commute to work- which all translates into your being there for that soccer game or school play.

Imagine that when you pick up your paycheck, it’s not gone by the time you pay your basic living expenses, because the cost of living just got a whole lot cheaper. There’s money left over after bills are paid, so you can actually enjoy some of the fruits of your labor.

Imagine knowing your neighbors- actually knowing them, their names and the names of their children. When you leave on vacation, they water your garden (yes, you actually grow your own fresh, organic veggies) and they mow your lawn. They notice when you’re sick or in trouble, and they even bring you cookies when you first move in. It’s all very Mayberry, and you may think it doesn’t exist anymore. But you’d be wrong.

Why not grab a cup of cofee, sit down for a few minutes and take look around? A beautiful, clean, safe and friendly community awaits you and your family here in the quiet midwest. The time is now to slow life down a notch and take time to smell those roses.

What are you waiting for?

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