Summer Solstice: A Good Excuse to Nap Outside

Summer officially begins at 1:16 p.m., which is as good a reason as any to abandon work for the day and lay outside, absorbing every possible moment of the day's 15 hours and 5 minutes of sun.

Little Neck and environs offer plenty of options for outdoor lounging. But napping outside isn't as simple as dropping onto the first open patch of grass you see.

1) Bring a groundcover. There is a such things as lush, soft grass, but unless you choose to rest your head in your neighbor's freshly laid sod, you'll probably wind up with the sharper stuff. The absolute best solution we've found is the U-Haul Furniture Pad. It looks like scraped together drier lint, and maybe it is, but it's cheap, washable, huge, and best of all, incredibly soft.

2) Layer. You are subjected to the wiles of the sun, and even the nicest days can go from hot to cold and back again very quickly. You may want to layer clothes with a light coat or bring an additional blanket. Your second blanket can be nicer, since it's not touching the ground.

3) Reading Material. You may not be able to immediately nap, so consider bringing your favorite reading material. Nothing will help your fledgling nap like easing your brain into it with a good book. It's good for you, too.

4) Sunglasses. The Sun is 864,948.7 miles in diameter and can produce around a thousand watts per square meter of sunlight on a clear day. Even with your eyes closed, bright light can inhibit your nap. If you like to sleep on your back, face to face with ol' Mr. Sun, keep the sunglasses on. If you lack sunglasses, place your reading materials on your face.

5) Snacks. You don't want your laying time interrupted by base bodily functions, so bring a light snack. A bottle of water and a sandwich or a Powerbar will ensure that you can continue laying, reading and enjoying your grass patch long after hunger has driven your competitors away. If you do bring a sandwich, use mustard instead of mayonnaise, which can go bad quickly on hot days. You don’t want your obituary to read that you were killed by bread, meat and condiments.