It’s dark these days, now that daylight saving time has ended and we’re working our way toward the longest night and shortest day of the year.
Because we’re in a valley with mountain ranges to the west (and the east) it gets dark very quickly once the sun goes behind the Green Mountains. And in the morning, it takes a long time for the sun to light the sky. Because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis, the sun stays low in the sky causing those moments of morning road blindness while driving.
It’s never a good idea to wish away time and days, so hoping the solstice and the tilt back toward the light will happen quickly is not a good idea. Instead, though, watch the quality of light that we do get in this period of waning light.
Watch the sun light up the far peaks and color the sky every hue from gray to orange to gold. Watch, as many did this week on Monday afternoon, when the sky was bright blue and sunny to the south, sunny and cloudy to the west and as black and ominous as the worst thunderstorm possible to the north.
Watch when the near sky is overcast and Hunger Mountain to the northwest is brilliantly illuminated. Watch the sky behind the Green Mountains in the morning. The show that the sun and sky put on in November and December is unparalleled; we just have to pay attention to it.
There’s no better way to start the day than heading out into the barely light day and watching the light while breathing cold air that enters the lungs like a gift. There’s nothing wrong with walking in the waning scant light of late afternoon and appreciating how beautiful trees are in their skeletal nakedness.
Watch the light and how beautifully it paints the mountains and ridges. Relish the blinding prisms of snow when the sun hits at just the right angle.
Enjoy the dark and enjoy the lights that we humans put up to keep it at bay. Revel at all the lighted stars that brighten our Valley and the lights of Christmas trees and Hanukah candles.
Cold and darkness are only intolerable if you let them trap you inside. The secret to surviving Vermont in the winter is to go outside – even when it is dark and especially when it’s cold.
