The Summer Solstice: Facts and Folklore---The summer solstice occurred yesterday Friday, June 20, at 7:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. This astronomical event not only marks the beginning of summer, but June 20th is also the day with the most amount of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere. Interestingly, our friends in the Southern Hemisphere will be simultaneously marking the winter solstice since their seasons occur opposite.

The term “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” (sun) and “sistere” (to stand still). At the solstice, the angle between the Sun’s rays and the plane of the Earth’s equator (called declination) appears to stand still. This phenomenon is most noticeable at the Arctic Circle where the Sun hugs the horizon for a continuous 24 hours, thus the term “Land of the Midnight Sun.”

Some people believe that our seasons are caused by the Earth’s changing distance from the Sun. In reality, it is due to the 23-degree tilt of the Earth’s axis that the Sun appears above the horizon for different lengths of time at different seasons. The tilt determines whether the Sun’s rays strike at a low angle or more directly. On July 4th at 3 a.m. EDT, the Earth will be at aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun in its orbit, at a distance of 94.5 million miles. Back on January 2nd, the Earth was at perihelion, closest to the Sun. The difference in distance is about 3.1 million miles, or 3.3 percent, which makes a difference of nearly 7 percent in radiant heat received by the Earth. It would seem that for the Northern Hemisphere, such a difference would tend to make for mild winters and cool summers, but the truth of the matter is, it actually works the other way, making winters colder and the summers hotter.

The summer solstice has long been celebrated by cultures around the world:

• In Ancient Egypt, the summer solstice coincided with the rising of the Nile River. As it was crucial to predict this annual flooding, the Egyptian New Year began at this important solstice.

• In centuries past, the Irish would cut witchhazel branches on Solstice eve to be used in searching for gold, water and precious jewels.

• Many European cultures hold Midsummer celebrations at the solstice, which include gatherings at Stonehenge and the lighting of bonfires on hilltops.

Maybe you celebrate summer by taking a vacation or spending more time outdoors? Whatever you do, just remember, summer has officially started. Here are some things to think about when you plan outdoor activities.

The recent tomato contamination outbreak has many people thinking about growing their own garden-fresh fruits and vegetables. It's not where the produce is grown, but how it's grown, so amateur cultivators should know a few important tips about home-garden food safety.

Since many of the bacteria and parasites that make people sick are transmitted through animal and human waste, it's important to protect your garden from wild animals and household pet. While you're sharing your harvest with them, they could be sharing potential illnesses via saliva and droppings.

It's just common sense, you don't want droppings to contact the produce, particularly if you're going to be eating it raw, which we often do.

Treat your garden like something you want to eat. You don't want birds and animals snooping around your food. Deer are cute and they'll be attracted to your lettuce and green peppers. But they'll leave something behind, so try to divert them to another area.

It's also important to keep cats, dogs and other pets out of the garden. While you might think they're sampling the fresh, young plants, they may see your patch as a litter box or porta-potty.

During the growing and harvesting seasons, especially, you have to keep a watchful eye. People who grow fruits and vegetables at home should be aware of good agricultural practices, such as washing their hands after harvesting and avoiding using composted animal manure in their gardens and never use dog or cat droppings. They contain parasites that aren't killed by the composting process.

After harvesting fruits and vegetables, use the standard food-safety practices recommended for any home kitchen. Other tips

include:

--Don't allow piles of decaying plant matter to collect in the garden. Neatness in the garden is a good idea. Cuttings and garden waste can attract insects that can transfer bacteria. So keep your garden neat and clean, take cuttings to the compost pile and keep the animals out. And be sure the compost pile is separated by some distance from the garden area, to guard against contamination in the event of heavy rain or flooding.

--Don't place feeding stations for birds, squirrels or other wild animals in or near your garden. Having a bird house or feeder in your garden may look nice, but that's not a good idea, because bird droppings contain harmful bacteria.

--Be cautious about using rain barrels and other sources of collected precipitation. We can't be sure of the quality of water we collect from a rain barrel. It may very well be safe, but it can be contaminated with pathogens from roof-dwelling birds or other creatures - or possibly chemicals released by the roofing. We just don't know, so you should treat this water as nonpotable.

Using collected water in a drip irrigation system is usually fine, since water-borne bacteria will die when they get into the soil. But don't spray that water on any edible part of the crops - especially close to harvest time. I also cautions against using rainwater on root crops that might be eaten raw, such as green onions or carrots. Municipal water is safest and well water is usually safe if you have your wells tested every year, which is the norm.

--Locate the garden away from areas where wild animals or pets might congregate to rest or nibble on shrubs. This is the same problem

that commercial growers are facing. For a small garden, it's easy to put up a small fence for dogs, but it's hard to keep deer out - they're going to browse no matter what. So just be on the alert for droppings.

T.G.I.F.F. Thank goodness it's finally frost-free

Gardening Angel