Happy Summer!

Today is the Day!  Summer officially begins on June 21, 2011, at 1:16 p.m.

According to www.almanac.com,

"The word solstice comes from the Latin words for "sun" and "to stop," due to the fact that the Sun appears to stop in the sky. The Sun is directly overhead at its most northern point at "high-noon" on the summer solstice, creating more sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere on this day then any other.
On the solstice, we also hit the longest day of the year. From here on out, the days begin to get shorter."

The Almanac.com also gives the times of sun rise and set; today, we will have 15 hours and 6 minutes of sun.  The sun rises at 5:26 AM and sets at 8:32 PM. It also gives the rising and setting time for other planets, and the REALLY long range weather forecast, if you are interested.  The Almanac says,

Summer will be drier and slightly cooler than normal, with the hottest periods in mid- and late June, early July, and early to mid-August.

Hmmmm... that sounds like a good bet!