We're coming up to the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21, then the daylight hours get longer again, thank goodness. What I really notice is how much further south is the rising sun. My balcony faces east ... and in the summer, I'd have to look way up the river toward the left to see it rise. Nowadays, sunrise happens more to the right side over the lake. It's pitch dark here by 5:00 p.m.

In a way, snow is really helpful. It's so reflective, and intensifies the light even on dull days. I have to wear sunglasses through the winter or I will get terrible headaches from the glare. At the moment, there's no snow, and everything is gray and brown and dull, dull, dull. Yuk! I won't complain too loudly though ... at least I don't have to shovel and scrape away dull gray weather

Doreen