Musings - on the editor's mind

The long, slow climb out of darkness has begun. Since the Dec. 21 winter solstice, we have gained seven minutes of day length.

Light, which had been disappearing steadily since November, is slowly pushing into earlier sunrises and later sunsets, if just perceptibly. It will be late January before the increased length of daily light marches noticeably back into our lives. Our first post 5 p.m. sunset is the 25th.

But sunlight’s presence a minute and four seconds longer daily, on average, adds up: January ends with a day 46 minutes longer than the start of the month. On Jan. 15, day length incre...