Solstice Shadows

This being the longest day of the year is a perfect time to mention a phenomenon which is painfully obvious once observed yet something I had never encountered before living in the northern US and Europe:

Shadows below the Tropic of Cancer face south (at least from Spring to Fall).

Up north, boy scouts without compasses know they kind find their direction because moss grows on the north sides of trees--because sunlight never shines directly there. Up north, artists' garrets have north facing windows for the indirect light because the sun never shines on that side of the building. And just as the north sides of things are always shaded, shadows never face south. Except down here, they do.

Which is just subtle enough that it doesn't feel weird until you become consciously aware of it.

(And, yes, I know I'm not quite at the latitude of the Tropic, but the Sun is big and the effect kind of spills over.)