I never understood why summer officially begins on a date when “summer” has clearly been underway for over a month. Ditto winter, of course: If you haven’t already frozen solid by the official start of winter, you’re not trying hard enough.
The reason of course is that some clueless solon decreed that summer and winter shall begin at the solstice – which has everything to do with the length of the sunlit day and nothing whatever to do with the weather, which is what the season is really all about.
It used to really confuse me because prior to moving off grid I never paid the slightest attention to the solstices. Now I live by them like any Wiccan.
When I built the Lair I didn’t fully appreciate the meaning of declination – which ought to be a pagan concept if it isn’t – and so, though I always intended to mount solar panels on the roof when I could afford to I didn’t orient the cabin to true south – It’s oriented to magnetic south, which at this declination is considerably different.
That opened an opportunity last summer when I built the new ground mount. Of course it’s oriented to true south, which points more toward the sunset. It’s also at a better angle for winter efficiency, so I manage to squeeze out advantage year-round from a still very small installation.
It’s always the little things that will trip a guy up. I’m glad the new solar mount is working out well. Since you have all the power you could want here’s something you could cobble together for those days where it’s hot enough to melt lead. An air conditioner for the secret lair. Run this an hour or so before bedtime to cool the place down for a decent night’s sleep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHbQYajfGqM
The only issue is they will make the place more humid but seeing as you are in the desert this shouldn’t be a big problem.
For what it is worth, the Norse had the right idea. The divided the year into the summer half and the winter half marked at about the equinoxes. It sure works here in Alaska! But winter lasts a little longer around here.