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 increases by over two minutes a day. Three weeks later, Feb. 5, day length will increase by three minutes and keeps growing, daily

It will be 38 days until we gain an hour of daylight: Jan. 28 will have 9 hours and 26 minutes of daylight.

Annually I struggle with this period. This, 80 miles from the Canadian border, is the farthest north I have lived.

But even in Cincinnati, hundreds of miles south of here, daylight checks out early these twelve weeks. Dark is dark in every clime.

Maybe your soul quiets and retreats and you have been able to rest at winter’s dark start. Bears hibernate without reflecting, as far as we know. Humans are navel gazers. Now is a good opportunity for retreat, rest and self-reflection.